Annotated Game #149: Obvious Moves

This second-round tournament game is full of "obvious" moves - some good, others not.  I found it interesting to see that as a recurrent theme throughout the game, which should help me look deeper in the future into a position's possibilities.  My opponent was not immune to the "obvious" move trap either, on both sides - she passed up some better alternatives, as well as missing a win in the endgame which was tactically "obvious".

This other recurring theme in the game is the role that mental states played on both sides - tiredness and (in my case) stubbornness in refusing to get depressed and concede defeat even when significantly down.  This was a rather exhausting struggle to draw for me, so even if it wasn't fully deserved, I felt it was a good result.  In practical terms, my refusal to give up and my constantly looking for ways to impede my opponent were things that paid off in the end.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class A"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A00"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 9.3"] [PlyCount "113"] {A00: Irregular Openings} 1. b4 d5 2. Bb2 Nf6 {I'd be happy to have White exchange on f6. The doubled pawn would still be relatively strong, helping control e5, and White's strong bishop would be gone.} 3. e3 Bg4 {f5 is a more popular square for the bishop, but the text move scores equally well (around 56 percent).} 4. Nf3 e6 5. a3 Bd6 {this can't be bad, although ...Nbd7, preparing ...c5, may be better.} 6. Be2 O-O 7. d3 {now out of the database. The only other (2) games featuring this line saw White castle here. My opponent postpones this for several moves.} c5 {here I have the right basic idea - target the advanced b-pawn - but perhaps go about it the wrong way. It is more principled to undermine it from the flank.} (7... a5 8. b5 Nbd7) 8. c3 {passing up the chance to exchange favorably on c5.} (8. bxc5 Bxc5 9. Nbd2 Nc6 $11) 8... a6 {this is too slow, Black would do better to develop a piece.} 9. Nbd2 Nc6 {not the best square for the knight, in this position. Its influence over d4 and b4 is not enough to help contest those squares, so it could do a much better job from d7 of supporting e5 and c5.} 10. O-O Rc8 {with the longer-term intention of opening up the c-file.} 11. Rc1 Re8 {with the idea of supporting an e-pawn push.} 12. Re1 {White is strategically content to try and contain or oppose my ideas, rather than come up with a more aggressive plan.} b6 {again rather slow. I've now wasted two tempi on the a6/b6 advances.} (12... Qe7 {would develop the queen to a good square and connect the rooks.}) 13. Qa4 $6 {a mistake, but one that is not obvious to punish.} (13. bxc5 bxc5 14. c4 $11) 13... e5 {here I decide to ignore White's queenside sortie and react in the center. The engine agrees that offering the a-pawn is correct, although there is a better idea available.} (13... b5 $5 {the engine finds this alternative, which depends on a longer trapping White's queen.} 14. Qxa6 { the obvious response, also threatening to capture the b-pawn.} (14. Qd1 c4 $17 {looks very good for Black, whose pawns thrust into White's queenside while the pieces dominate the center and can threaten the kingside.}) 14... Qd7 { preparing ...Ra8} 15. Qxb5 Ra8 16. bxc5 Reb8 $15 {the White queen can no longer escape, but after eventually being exchanged for Black's rook, White will be slightly down material but not lost.}) 14. h3 Bxf3 {an expedient decision, but perhaps not ideal. White's queen placement makes the retreat to d7 a more obvious choice. Exchanging on f3 in constrast helps activate White's light-square bishop.} (14... Bd7 15. Qb3 h6 $15) 15. Nxf3 e4 16. dxe4 dxe4 17. Nh2 $6 {this is in fact a major error, although again it was difficult to see the way to best take advantage of it.} (17. Nd2 $11) 17... Qc7 18. Nf1 Ne5 { a correct general idea, centralizing the knight and preparing ...c4, but this gives White too much leeway and allows the next move, blocking the advance of my c-pawn.} (18... c4 $5 {is the tactical way to implement the plan more effectively.} 19. Qxa6 (19. Bxc4 $2 b5 20. Qxa6 bxc4 21. Qxc4 Ne5 22. Qxc7 Rxc7 23. Red1 Nd3 $17 {and Black's piece is significantly better than White's three pawns.}) 19... Ne5 20. Rb1 Nd3 21. Bxd3 (21. Qa4 Ra8 22. Qd1 b5 $19) 21... exd3 22. Nd2 Ne4 $17 {Here Black is a pawn down, but White is effectively playing without the Bb2, the Qa6 is dangerously exposed, and the passed protected pawn on d3 is a big asset for Black.}) 19. c4 $11 cxb4 $6 {a poor decision. My threats have now largely dissipated and I should at this point have thought about shoring up the queenside, rather than continuing to leave the a-pawn hanging.} (19... Ra8) 20. axb4 $14 Qe7 {making an obvious and not tactically sound threat to the b-pawn.} 21. Red1 {now the b-pawn is tactically protected (see below variation), something which I spot. Now it is clear that White has the initiative and I must play more defensively.} Nfd7 $6 {sadly, the right idea but the wrong knight. I did not want to move the centralized Ne5.} (21... Bxb4 $2 {now the Qe7 is overloaded, being the sole protector of both the Ne5 and Bb4.} 22. Bxe5 Qxe5 23. Qxb4 $18) (21... Ned7 $16) 22. Qxa6 {obvious, but this frees the Bd6 to take the b-pawn.} (22. Ng3 {this would be a somewhat quiet but very effective move, getting the knight back into the game in a big way and also threatening the e4 pawn.} Bxb4 23. Nf5 Qg5 24. Rxd7 $1 Nxd7 25. Nxg7 $18) 22... Bxb4 $16 23. Qb7 {this allows me to almost equalize again.} ( 23. Bxe5 Nxe5 24. Ng3 Nc6 25. Qb5 $16 {and Black is not going to be able to support the e-pawn.}) 23... Nc5 $14 {this time the obvious move is the most effective one.} 24. Qxe7 Rxe7 25. Rb1 Ba5 {anticipating the threat of Bxe5.} 26. Ba3 {Black has an active position} Rec7 {unfortunately here the obvious move is not the best. I get the rook out of the pin and line up on the c-pawn.} (26... g6 $11 {is a non-obvious move found by the engine. The point is to use prophylaxis to defend against Ng3-f5 by White, while also preparing ...f5 if necessary to protect the e4 pawn, and finally giving the Black king some space off the back rank. In the game, I worried too much about the pin on the Nc5 knight, which does not have an immediate effect.}) 27. Rd5 (27. Ng3 $5) 27... Ned3 {the obvious reaction, occupying the d3 outpost and setting up mutual support with the Nc5.} 28. f3 {undermining the necessary support for the Nd3. Here I fail to grasp that I can tactically swap the e-pawn for white's c-pawn.} Ne1 $6 {this is far too cute a move and unnecessarily complicated.} (28... Na4 $5 29. Bxd3 (29. fxe4 {temporarily in fact wins a pawn, but White will be too weak on the e-file to protect it in the long term.} Ndc5 30. Bxc5 Nxc5 31. e5 Re8 $11) 29... exd3 30. Rxd3 Rxc4 $11) 29. Bxc5 Rxc5 30. fxe4 {Opposite coloured bishops appeared, notes Komodo via the Fritz interface. This will be very important later on.} Re8 $2 {instead of the obvious alternative...} (30... Nc2 $5 $14) 31. Rb5 (31. Rc1 $5) 31... Rxb5 32. cxb5 g6 {a good idea to remove back-rank mating threats, although it would have been more effective played earlier (see move 26). At this point, we move into the endgame phase, where it's clear that White holds a full-pawn advantage and I will have to struggle to try and achieve a draw. The fact that my opponent's e-pawns are doubled and that we have opposite-color bishops give me some hope, however.} 33. e5 (33. Nd2 Bb4 $16) 33... Bc3 {an obvious threat to the e5 pawn and a good way to reactivate the bishop.} 34. Kf2 (34. Bc4 $5 Rxe5 35. Rd7 Kh8 36. Rxf7 $14) 34... Nc2 $11 {here the engine considers the position equal. I've managed to get my minor pieces to better squares and have my rook placed better than White's.} 35. Rd6 {White threatens to win material: Rd6xb6} Re6 $6 {an obvious idea but not a good one. Luckily my opponent does not find the most effective follow-up.} (35... Ba5 {here the bishop looks less active, but another way to look at it is to see that it is negating the activity of White's rook, so the bishop's placement on a5 is in fact best.} 36. Bd3 Ne1 37. Bc4 Rxe5 38. Rd7 $11 ) 36. Rc6 (36. Rd8+ Kg7 37. Bg4 f5 38. exf6+ Rxf6+ 39. Ke2 Bb4 $16) 36... Rxc6 $11 37. bxc6 Bxe5 {this should now be a relatively easy draw.} 38. Nd2 Nb4 39. Bb5 Nd5 (39... Kf8 $5 {the king needs to get into the game. Basic endgame principle: centralize the king and get it into the action (in this case, over on the c-file).}) 40. Nf3 Bd6 41. Bc4 Nc7 $2 {this is far too literal an implementation of the idea of blockading the c-pawn. It also ignores the other threat being set up, to the pinned f7 pawn, which should be obvious. However, at this point in the game I was no longer doing an effective job of falsifying my moves - something that often occurs when I am mentally tired.} (41... Nb4 $5 ) 42. Ng5 $16 b5 {the best reaction.} 43. Bxf7+ Kf8 44. Bb3 {it was very disappointing to me to be back to the position of being a pawn down in the endgame. I nevertheless rallied and refused to give up.} h6 $2 (44... Be7 45. Ne4 $16) 45. Ne4 {my opponent also was tired by this point, passing up a (mostly obvious) chance to gain material.} (45. Nf7 $5 Ke7 46. Nxh6 $18 { at this point I would have effectively been lost, being down two pawns and with White able to create another passed pawn on the kingside.}) 45... Be5 46. Ke2 Ke7 47. Kd3 Kd8 $6 {still thinking too literally about blockading the c-pawn.} (47... Na6 48. Kd2 Nb8 49. Bd5 g5 $11) 48. Nc5 $16 Ke7 49. Nb7 { The knight dominates, comments Komodo.} Kf6 {here I don't have much of a plan and ignore potential maneuvering of my minor pieces.} (49... Na6 50. Ke4 Bc7 51. Bc2 Nb4 $14) 50. Ke4 Bc3 51. Kd3 {White is also starting to run out of ideas, however.} (51. Bc2 Ke7 $16) 51... Be5 52. e4 {this looks aggressive, but in fact makes White's job much more difficult, blocking the square for his pieces and in effect strengthening the Be5. I'm now much closer to equality again.} (52. Bd1 $5 $16) 52... Ne6 $2 (52... Na6 $5 $11) 53. Ke3 $6 (53. Bxe6 { would be the best way to try and make progress, although it goes against the general rule of not exchanging bishops for knights in an open position.} Kxe6 { now White can work to transfer his king to the queenside, if necessary via c2-b3.}) 53... Bf4+ $11 {due to White's last move, I can now seize the e3 square with tempo and get my king to e5.} (53... Nf4 54. Nc5 Ke7 55. Nd7 $16) 54. Kf3 Be5 $6 {unfortunately I don't recognize the correct idea (...Bc7 followed by ...Ke5), but my opponent is frustrated and unable to think of how to make progress, so we end up with a draw.} 55. Ke3 (55. Bxe6 $5 Kxe6 56. Ke3 $16) 55... Bf4+ $14 {Twofold repetition} 56. Kd3 Be5 57. Ke3 1/2-1/2

Annotated Game #150: Drawing a Win

This third-round game features a seesaw battle in the Symmetrical English, which in fact turned out to be rather unbalanced.  My opponent was evidently unfamiliar with the opening, although I misunderstood some key ideas as well (see for example move 13).  I get my plan back on track and by around move 22 am doing quite well.  Black of course does not give up and complicates things in the next several moves, while I only find lesser moves in response.

The main error on my part comes on move 26, when I make a false assumption about the solidity of my position and make an "obvious move" (see Annotated Game #149) which is tactically refuted by my opponent.  Nevertheless, I fight back and do the same to my opponent on move 31, coming up with a winning "in-between move" rather than the obvious recapture.  However, in the end I fail to find the winning idea with time running out on my clock, so I force a draw.  Disappointing, but at least the lesson learned in analysis of how I could have won the position will be with me for the future.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class B"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A38"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 9.3"] [PlyCount "76"] {A38: Symmetrical English vs ...g6:4 Bg2 Bg7 5 Nf3 Nf6} 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. d3 d6 {I suspected my opponent had not faced the English much and therefore decided to copy my moves for lack of any other ideas.} 8. Bd2 h6 {breaking the symmetry finally. Since the bishop had just moved to d2, I assume that the pawn advance was aimed at preventing a future Ng5, although this does not seem particuarly urgent, so developing a piece would make more sense.} 9. Rb1 e5 {this seizes space in the center, but leaves a big hole on d5.} 10. a3 {with the idea of forcing through the pawn advance b4.} a5 {the obvious reaction} 11. Ne1 {opening up the long diagonal and looking to transfer the knight to support b4.} Re8 12. Nc2 Nd4 (12... a4 13. b4 axb3 14. Rxb3 Nd4 {would be an improved version of the idea.}) 13. Nxd4 {this was unnecessary and distracted from the whole point of the previous plan to build up the b4 advance.} (13. b4 axb4 14. axb4 $14) 13... exd4 $11 14. Nd5 (14. Nb5 $5 Bg4 15. Re1 Qd7 $11) 14... Nxd5 15. Bxd5 {the bishop looks nicely placed, but has no real follow-up threats and can eventually be attacked after preparing ...Be6.} Qe7 16. Re1 Bh3 $6 {bishops on h3 like this always look menacing, but without an ability for Black to further attack the g2 square (for example, with his queen), the bishop in fact is out of play here.} (16... Be6 17. Bg2 $11) 17. b4 $14 {I finally return to the main idea of the position for White.} axb4 18. axb4 Ra7 19. bxc5 $16 dxc5 20. Rb6 {threatening to win material after Rxg6, due to the pin on the f-pawn (the Bd5 actually contributing now to concrete threats).} (20. e4 $5) 20... Kh7 21. Qb1 {now it's my turn to line up the heavy pieces against a pawn, to greater effect.} Bc8 (21... Be5 22. Rxb7 Rxb7 23. Qxb7 Qxb7 24. Bxb7 Rb8 25. Bg2 $16) 22. Bf4 $16 {now this bishop finally gets in the game, with a strong threat to fork on d6.} g5 $2 {missing the point of the last move.} (22... Rd8 $5 $16) 23. Bd6 Qd7 24. Bxc5 {White now dominates and has a winning position, although the game itself is still far from actually won.} Qg4 $2 {here I fail to think more creatively to take advantage of Black's error.} (24... Ra5 25. Bd6 $18) 25. f3 {this is fine for maintaining the advantage, but not decisive.} (25. Bxf7 { secures the win, notes Komodo 8 via the Fritz interface.} Rg8 (25... Rd8 26. Rxh6+ Bxh6 27. Qb6 {forking the Rd8, Ra7 and the g6 square with the queen.}) 26. Rxh6+ {this is the key idea I failed to find, which features both a discovered attack on the Ra7 and opening lines against Black's kind; see also the previous variation.} Bxh6 27. Bxg8+ Kxg8 28. Bxa7 $18) 25... Qf5 26. Be4 $4 {an unfortunate move that relinquishes the win, states Komodo 8. Also an "obvious move" that I should have checked more throughly.} (26. Qb2 {is a simple way to continue.} Kg8 27. Rd6 $18) (26. Rxh6+ {also still works.}) 26... Rxe4 $16 {Black is able to exchange the rook for two bishops, which is quite favorable and something I failed to account for, with the hanging Bc5. The false assumption was that the Be4 was immune to capture, being protected by pawns, but going the one step further in calculation would have pointed out this fallacy.} 27. fxe4 $2 {the curse of the "obvious move" strikes again!} ( 27. Rb5 {would still leave White slightly better.} Rxe2 28. Rxe2 $14) 27... Qxc5 $17 28. Rf1 {still not taking into account my opponent's best replies.} ( 28. Qb5 Qc7 29. Rb1 $17) 28... Be6 $6 (28... Bh3 $5 {now would be quite effective, since it would threaten White's king on the back rank.} 29. Rd1 (29. Rxf7 $4 Qxb6 30. Qxb6 Ra1+ 31. Qb1 Rxb1+ 32. Kf2 Rf1#) 29... Qc7 $17) 29. Rxb7 $11 Rxb7 30. Qxb7 {the position is now equal, as White's extra pawns and active queen position compensate for Black's two bishops.} Bxc4 $4 {this should be the losing move.} (30... Qa5 $142 $11 {was possible}) 31. Rf5 $18 { the simplest way to win. Here I give myself credit for not just automatically playing the obvious dxc4 (which is also good according to the computer, but creates a much more complex and unclear situation). Instead I see that the queen can be chased away from protecting the c4 square first.} (31. dxc4 d3+ 32. Kg2 dxe2 33. Rxf7 e1=N+ 34. Kf1 Qxc4+ 35. Kxe1 {is the complex computer line, which also gives Black a lot of queen checks to follow, although it's rated better for White (eventually).}) 31... Qa3 32. dxc4 Qc1+ 33. Kg2 (33. Rf1 {is simpler and better, as the rook is not as useful on the f5 square.} Qe3+ 34. Rf2 Qc1+ 35. Kg2 Qxc4 36. Qxf7 Qxf7 37. Rxf7 $18) 33... Qxc4 34. Rxf7 Qxe2+ 35. Rf2 Qe3 {in comparison with the above variation, now it's much harder (at least for me) to find a line where White can make progress. With time low on the clock, I instead end up repeating moves and drawing.} 36. Rf7 (36. Qd5 { is the best move, getting behind Black's passed d-pawn while maintaining support of the e4 pawn and enabling the queen to move laterally to the f-file. The idea is to check on f5 - which Black cannot block - then threaten to redeploy the rook to the 8th rank to target the Black king.} g4 {technically best, in order to divert the queen to the g-file after Qf5+.} (36... d3 37. Qf5+ Kg8 38. Ra2 Bf8 39. Qg6+ Kh8 40. Qe8 Kg7 41. Rf2 {and wins.}) 37. Qf5+ Kg8 38. Ra2 Qf3+ 39. Qxf3 gxf3+ 40. Kxf3 $18 {and the endgame win for White is trivial.}) 36... Qe2+ 37. Rf2 {Twofold repetition} Qe3 38. Rf7 Qe2+ $11 1/2-1/2

Annotated Game #155: Wrong side of a Stonewall

The following third-round game had me on the "wrong" side (White) of a Stonewall.  Of course I was fine on principle in the opening, but it's often tough to play against defenses that you yourself use.  In this case, the game becomes quite sharp in the early middlegame and Black takes over the initiative.  Instead of finding some interesting tactical options (especially on move 18, with a deflection possibility), I play some "obvious moves" (as in Annotated Game #149) and get in trouble in the complications.  Despite some desperation-type pressure from my end, my opponent consolidated in time trouble to the point where the win was obvious, so I resigned.  Not my best effort, but it was a useful learning experience in dealing with an unfamiliar opening setup (Semi-Slav versus the English, which morphed into a Stonewall).

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class A"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D45"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 8"] [PlyCount "68"] {D4: Semi-Slav: 5 e3} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 c6 {this is the first time I've encountered a Semi-Slav type setup against the English.} 5. b3 Nbd7 6. Be2 {this may be a premature development of the bishop.} Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. d4 {this move puts the game firmly in Semi-Slav territory (although not for long). Alternate approaches may be better. Here's one from Mikhail Tal:} (8. Qc2 Re8 9. Bb2 e5 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Ne4 Bc7 12. a3 a5 13. Bc4 Nf8 14. Ng3 Bg4 15. Ne1 Ng6 16. h3 Be6 17. Nf3 Nf6 18. Bxe6 Rxe6 19. Rad1 Re8 20. e4 Nd7 21. d4 exd4 22. Nxd4 Bxg3 23. fxg3 Qb6 24. Kh2 Qc5 25. Qe2 Nde5 26. Nf5 Rad8 27. Rxd8 Rxd8 28. Rd1 Qf8 29. Bd4 Rd7 30. Bc3 Rxd1 31. Qxd1 h6 32. h4 f6 33. h5 Ne7 34. Nh4 Qb8 35. Bxe5 Qxe5 36. Qd7 Kf8 37. Ng6+ Nxg6 38. hxg6 Qh5+ 39. Kg1 Qxg6 40. Qxb7 Qxe4 41. Qa8+ {1/2-1/2 (41) Tal,M (2560)-Bagirov,V (2505) Riga 1981}) 8... Qe7 9. Bb2 Ne4 10. Qc2 f5 {now we have a classic Stonewall Dutch formation for Black.} 11. Nxe4 {starting a somewhat complex sequence. I had to think here for a while and also again on move 14 to make sure that I had it right.} fxe4 12. Ne5 {the only move that doesn't give Black a positional edge.} Qg5 { the counter-threat by Black, which requires White to further support the Ne5. Exchanging on d7 is possible, but just benefits Black by freeing up the Bc8 and connecting his rooks.} 13. Qc3 Rf5 {increasing the pressure again on Black's side.} 14. f4 exf3 15. Rxf3 (15. Nxf3 $5 {is the other major option. I thought that the text move seemed to keep the balance more easily.}) 15... Nxe5 16. dxe5 Rxe5 17. Rg3 {an obvious move with an obvious threat that I made quickly. I should have considered other options as well, since there's no urgency to play the text move. For example, Black's Re5 is awkwardly placed and is a target for White's bishops.} (17. Bd3 $5 {starts a wild line:} Rxe3 18. Bxh7+ Kh8 19. Rxe3 Bc5 20. Rae1 d4 21. Qd3 dxe3 22. Be4 $14) (17. c5 { is a safer version of the idea.} Bc7 18. Bd3 {and Black's Re5 is trapped and will have to give itself up for the exchange, although this is not losing.}) 17... Qe7 18. Rf1 {another "obvious" move played when there was a not-so-obvious good alternative.} (18. Ba3 {deflection tactic.} Bxa3 19. Qxe5 Bd6 20. Qg5 Qxg5 21. Rxg5 $11) 18... Rg5 {Black now effectively takes over the initiative. His pieces are well placed to make threats on the kingside, while mine are not coordinating as well.} 19. Rxg5 Qxg5 20. Bh5 {I did well to find this move, although I followed up on it poorly, essentially overestimating my threats and underestimating Black's.} Bxh2+ 21. Kh1 $4 (21. Kxh2 {I dismissed this move since I thought it just lost a pawn, but it keeps the position equal due to White's threats on the f-file and against the g7 square.} Qxh5+ 22. Kg1 Qg5 23. Qb4 Qxe3+ 24. Rf2 $11) 21... Bg3 $19 {only now did I see the problem of the mate threat.} 22. Bf7+ {the best practical chance for White, although I am already lost by this point. However, my opponent was running very low on time in the first time control, so I played on and tried to complicate matters as much as possible.} Kh8 23. Kg1 Bd7 24. Be8 Rxe8 25. Rf7 e5 26. Rxd7 Qf5 { the game is effectively over, due to Black's mate threats. Under time pressure, however, he decides to pick up the material and just play safely.} 27. Qd2 Qxd7 (27... Rf8 28. Qe1 Bxe1 29. Bxe5 Bf2+ 30. Kh1 Qh5+ 31. Bh2 Qd1+ 32. Bg1 Qxg1#) 28. e4 d4 29. Qd3 Qg4 30. Ba3 Bf4 31. Kf1 Be3 32. Qe2 Qf4+ 33. Qf3 Qxf3+ 34. gxf3 h5 {at this point Black could easily make random moves to reach the time control successfully, so I resigned.} 0-1

Commentary: 2016 Olympiad Round 7 (Shankland - Sethuraman)

This next commentary game is from round 7 of the 2016 Olympiad in Baku, which saw the United States defeat India 3.5-0.5.  GM Sam Shankland contributed to that by winning the White side of a Slav Defense against S.P. Sethuraman; original ChessBase news and analysis can be found here.  As a Slav player, I found the game interesting; I feel it's important to study losses in your openings, not just wins, which can be common to focus on.

The below game highlights a number of useful chess themes, but it's also a lesson in the value of persistent defense when under pressure, as well as how having the advantage can slip away into a loss.  Shankland was thrown on the defensive after grabbing a pawn and then running out of threats.  However, Black - under time pressure, apparently - missed several follow-up moves that would have more directly converted his advantage, for example around moves 29-30.  Although technically lost (according to the engine), Shankland kept playing effective defensive moves that helped take away Black threats, until the tide turned around move 34.  By the time move 40 was reached, it was White who had the initiative and winning threats, although the win was not assured.  The long queen and minor piece endgame is also instructive to see, both for the principles involved and for the interesting tactic 65...Bg5 which looks like it could have held for Black.

As a final introductory comment, when looking at these types of master games, it's always useful to remember the pitfalls of computer analysis and see why the top engine moves aren't made on the board, which helps improving players both better understand the game and demonstrate how practical choices often need to be made at the board, rather than always striving for an "optimal" move selection.

[Event "42nd Olympiad Baku 2016 Open"] [Site "Baku"] [Date "2016.09.09"] [Round "?"] [White "Shankland, Samuel L"] [Black "Sethuraman, S P."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D13"] [WhiteElo "2679"] [BlackElo "2640"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 10"] [PlyCount "150"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 (4... Bf5 {is the other main choice here to stay within the Slav Defense. It's largely a matter of taste which to choose, although this variation offers White an easy route to exchange the Nf3 for the Bf5, if desired.}) 5. cxd5 cxd5 {after the exchange of pawns, Black now has to worry about the e8-a4 diagonal. However, the trade-off for White is reducing the central tension and opening the c-file, which Black usually can find useful.} 6. Nc3 e6 {White scores a remarkable 68 percent after this move, according to the database. It's remarkable because it doesn't seem warranted with the solidity of Black's position.} 7. Qa4+ {taking advantage of the open diagonal to harass Black.} Nbd7 (7... Nc6 $6 {lets White pile up the pressure and has not been played in the database.} 8. Ne5 Rc8 9. Bb5 Qb6 {and now 10. f3!? or 10. b3 look good for White, who can play comfortably on either the kingside or queenside.}) 8. Ne5 {the difference here from the previous variation is that while the knight on d7 is still pinned, it is amply defended. } a6 {a prophylactic move to take away the b5 square from White's bishop (or knight).} 9. f3 $5 {only played once before in the database (a White loss), but Komodo has it near the top of its choices.} (9. Nxg4 {is a more standard choice, with a knight for bishop exchange.} Nxg4 $11 {however, this takes the pressure off Black.}) 9... Bf5 10. g4 {the (only) logical follow-up to White's previous move. The kingside space advantage is real, but Black need not panic. However, it requires careful assessment and calculation to select the (only) reply that keeps the balance.} Bg6 $6 {this obvious move allows White to benefit from his space advantage and keep pressing.} (10... b5 {counterattacks immediately, to good effect:} 11. Qd1 {shifting the queen toward the kingside action} Nxe5 {another counterattack} 12. dxe5 Nxg4 {definitely not an obvious move} 13. fxg4 Qh4+ 14. Kd2 Bxg4 15. Qe1 Qg5 {and the engine assesses that Black has full compensation in an equal position. It is certainly more fun to play the Black side here.}) 11. h4 $16 b5 {still the best idea, but one move too late to preserve Black's game. This is a common phenomenon found in analyzing my own games, as well.} 12. Qd1 b4 {Black must keep up his counterplay on the queenside, as White is much better equipped to play on the kingside.} 13. h5 {Shankland correctly presses his own plan and ignores Black's threat.} Bxh5 {with nowhere else to go, the bishop's best move is to kamikaze while the Nc3 remains under threat.} (13... bxc3 14. hxg6 Nxe5 15. dxe5 Nd7 16. gxh7 $16) 14. Nxd7 {this looks like the easier way for White to proceed, eliminating the idea of ...Nxe5. The engine instead suggests moving the Nc3 out of harm's way first, for example:} (14. Ne2 {preparing for a kingside transfer} Bg6 {now Black seems to have gotten away with taking the h-pawn, but...} 15. Nxg6 fxg6 {forced, due to the pin on the Rh8} 16. Nf4 Kf7 { to protect the g6 pawn, again because of the pin} 17. e4 $16 {and White has more than enough compensation for the sacrificed pawn, with Black's king in an awkward position.}) 14... Nxd7 15. Rxh5 {choosing to have the semi-open h-file and an active rook.} (15. Nxd5 {would mirror the bishop's kamikaze efforts; Black could then continue with the same tactical motif:} Bxg4 16. Nf4 g5 17. fxg4 gxf4 18. Qf3 fxe3 19. Bxe3 $14 {and Black keeps the extra pawn, but White has compensation with better development and (probably) king safety.}) 15... bxc3 16. bxc3 Qc7 {targeting the backward c-pawn.} 17. Bd2 {although White has the two bishops, this doesn't seem to be an advantage here, as their scope is currently limited.} Bd6 18. Bd3 Nb6 {eyeing the c4 square.} 19. Ke2 {clearing the first rank for White's heavy pieces and getting off the h4-e1 diagonal.} h6 {this turns out to be rather loosening of Black's kingside and to give White an easy target, although technically speaking it is not a bad move. Other good options:} (19... Rb8) (19... g6) 20. g5 {Black still has the problem of the pin on the Rh8.} Kd7 {connecting the rooks and eliminating the pin problem.} 21. gxh6 gxh6 {Black's h-pawn is now passed, but also a middlegame target.} 22. Rb1 Rag8 {it's always difficult to select from different plausible-looking placements of a rook. Perhaps Black had the intent of provoking White's next move.} (22... Rab8 $5) 23. Bxa6 $2 {Shankland must have not seen a way for Black's resulting attack to bear fruit here.} (23. f4 {is preferred by the engine, which would block the Black dark-square bishop and also better prepare the capture on a6.}) 23... Rg2+ $19 24. Kd3 (24. Kf1 Rhg8 25. Rh1) 24... Ra8 { switching to offense along the a-file.} 25. Bb5+ Kd8 26. Rxh6 Rxa2 {White remains a pawn up but his king is in an awful position and Black's rooks on the second rank are strongly placed.} 27. Rh8+ Ke7 28. Re8+ Kf6 {White is now out of threats.} 29. Be1 Kg7 {stopping ideas like Bh4, but} (29... Bg3 $5 { would get the Black bishop into the attack and remove a key White defender. This looks like the simplest way to proceed.}) 30. f4 {blocking out the Black bishop.} f5 (30... Nc4 $5 {would (again) bring another piece into the attack, with strong threats.}) 31. Qb3 {Black is still winning here, but has yet to make a knockout move. White meanwhile is doing his best to contain Black's threats and generate some of his own, making winning continuations less obvious to find. The text move for example now makes the e6 pawn vulnerable.} ( 31. Rxe6 $4 Qc4+ 32. Bxc4 dxc4#) 31... Qf7 {protecting the e-pawn, but now removing the sacrificial tactic on c4.} (31... Rh2 {is a subtle continuation, seizing the h-file and setting up the threat of ...Ra3 with a deflection tactic, for example:} 32. Rxe6 Ra3 {and now} 33. Qxa3 $4 {runs into the same mating sacrifice on c4 as in the above variation.}) (31... Bxf4 {is a not-so-subtle way to proceed and win, shattering the pawns around White's king: } 32. exf4 Qxf4 33. Re7+ Kf6 $19 {with a mate in eight, according to Komodo.}) 32. Qd1 Nc4 33. Rd8 $1 {according to the ChessBase article, Sethuraman only had about two minutes left on his clock at this point, with many complications to resolve.} Be7 $6 {the obvious move, which however gives White a lot of breathing room.} (33... Nxe3 {is flagged by the engine as best, again with the idea of shattering White's protective pawns, although it is hardly easy to calculate.} 34. Kxe3 Bxf4+ 35. Kxf4 Rg4+ 36. Ke5 (36. Kf3 $2 Qh5 {with a mating net}) 36... Qf6+ 37. Kd6 Qxd8+ {winning}) 34. Rd7 $17 Rab2 {this gives White the ability to get back to equality, with the following move.} (34... Nb2+ {is probably the simplest line, forcing the win of an exchange.} 35. Rxb2 Raxb2 {but Black may have been put off by the following line:} 36. Bh4 Bxh4 37. Rxf7+ Kxf7 $19 {with a large advantage, but not so easy to evaluate. For example after} 38. Qh5+ Kg7 {wins handily, as the Bh4 cannot be captured due to the mate on d2. Calculating all this in time trouble would be difficult if not impossible, though.}) 35. Bxc4 dxc4+ 36. Kxc4 Qe8 (36... e5+ $5) 37. Rxb2 Rxb2 38. Qa1 Rb8 {again, what looks like an obvious harmless move turns out to be bad for Black.} (38... Re2 39. Kd3 Rxe3+ 40. Kxe3 Qxd7 $11) 39. Qa7 $18 { now Black is the one under major pressure.} Kf8 40. Kd3 {now White's king is no longer exposed to Black counter-threats.} Ra8 41. Qb7 Rb8 42. Qh1 {playing it safe by preventing ...Qh5 and trading off material, leading into an endgame. } (42. Qc6 $5 Qh5 43. Bd2 $18) 42... Qxd7 43. Qh8+ Kf7 44. Qxb8 $16 {queen and minor piece endgames are complicated and difficult, but Shankland manages to convert his two-pawn advantage at his leisure. His opponent could not have been in a positive frame of mind for a long, grinding defense. White keeps threatening to exchange queens while removing his king from annoying checks.} Qc6 45. Qb2 Qe4+ 46. Kd2 Qg2+ 47. Kc1 Qf1 48. Kd1 Qd3+ 49. Qd2 Qc4 50. Qe2 Qa4+ 51. Qc2 Qc4 52. Kd2 Qf1 53. Qd3 Qh1 54. Qe2 Qe4 55. Qh2 Qb7 56. Ke2 Qb2+ 57. Bd2 Qb5+ 58. Kf2 Kg6 59. Qg2+ Kf7 60. Qf3 Bh4+ 61. Kg2 Qd3 62. Qh5+ Kf8 63. Qd1 Kg7 64. Qg1 {an interesting tactical trade of material.} Qxd2+ 65. Kh3+ Kf8 $2 (65... Bg5 {is found by the engine. It is very counter-intuitive, but having the bishop choose to sacrifice itself on g5 appears to make it impossible for White to make progress after Black regains one of the pawns. For example} 66. Qxg5+ Kf7 67. Qh5+ Kg7 {White has no checks now and must lose either the e- or c-pawn.}) 66. Kxh4 $18 Qxc3 {in contrast with the above variation, White now can penetrate the kingside and threaten Black's king.} 67. Kh5 Qc6 68. Kh6 Qf3 69. Qg7+ Ke8 70. Qe5 Kd7 71. Kg7 Qg4+ 72. Kf8 Qh4 73. Qg7+ {starting the final sequence.} Kd6 74. Ke8 Qh5+ 75. Qf7 {calculating the won K+P endgame for White. } Kd5 {Black hangs the queen and resigns, although he was lost anyway.} (75... Qxf7+ 76. Kxf7 Kd5 (76... Kd7 77. d5 {an instructive temporary pawn sacrifice in the ending, undermining the f-pawn and allowing the win.} exd5 78. Kf6 { and wins.}) 77. Ke7 {and the e-pawn is doomed.}) 1-0

Annotated Game #171: A matter of technique

This next tournament game, which started my win streak, recalls a number of previous themes from my analyzed games.  The problem of going ahead and playing an "obvious move" without checking tactics is present - for both White and Black, in this case.  Strategic themes are identified on the kingside (White's Bh6 threat), the center (the e5 square and various tactics, as well as an eventual pawn break), and the queenside (missed opportunities to exploit White's weaknesses there).  Tactical themes include hanging pieces (White's Bf4), deflection, and intermediate moves (exploited by me to very good effect).

Overall I chose as the primary theme the sometimes cliche' comment in a game annotation, that the win from a certain point is "a matter of technique".  As long as one's technique is adequate, that is.  One of the pitfalls of computer analysis is to always look for the best move, even when you have already identified a winning move, which from a practical perspective should (by definition) always be enough.  This is an especially important consideration after a long struggle when you may be tired and your board sight and calculating ability (unlike a computer engine's) is not at 100%.  In this game I won by going into an advantageous endgame which I felt confident of winning, but should have earlier seen a deflection tactic (25...h5!) which would have wrapped things up much sooner.  After that, it really is around move 36 that I knew I would win (rather than just thinking it...there is a difference), but still almost faltered due to a board sight issue on the long diagonal.  The final blow doesn't come until I transition into a won king and pawn endgame, which takes two tries but finally succeeds.

This game was a struggle and I missed some good ideas, but being able to make some strong, confident decisions along the way to victory helped keep up the positive momentum in subsequent games.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class C"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B13"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin / Komodo 10"] [PlyCount "134"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Nf3 {this is not a recognized variation in the Caro-Kann, although of course it's not a terrible move in itself. It doesn't challenge Black in any way, unlike the Panov (c4) or the Exchange (Bd3) variations.} Nc6 5. Bf4 Bg4 {Black is able to deploy the bishop to a very effective square before playing ...e6. I would say that Black has already equalized.} 6. Be2 Nf6 7. h3 Bh5 8. c3 e6 9. Nbd2 Bd6 {White's Bf4 is an excellently placed piece, so deserves to be challenged.} 10. Ne5 Bxe2 11. Qxe2 O-O {much better to castle before trying to play further in the center.} 12. Ndf3 {White has established a strong-looking and supported outpost on e5. The flip side is that I get a similar one on e4.} Ne4 {also an excellent outpost for my knight on the e-file and one that cannot be challenged without inflicting positional damage on White. Importantly, it also helps guard the g5 square.} 13. Nxc6 {I am happy with this exchange, which gets rid of a strong centralized knight in exchange for my Nc6, which is doing relatively little at the moment.} bxc6 14. Ne5 $6 {again a knight occupies e5, but with fewer pieces on the board White has less in the way of potential threats associated with it. White also gives himself a tactical problem, in that the Bf4 is hanging if the Ne5 moves. This is not immediately critical, but soon becomes a consideration.} (14. Bxd6 Nxd6 15. O-O $11) 14... Qc7 {now ...f6 is a threat.} 15. Qg4 {protecting the Bf4 (once). I now have to watch out for the Bh6 idea, but it doesn't work tactically under the current circumstances.} (15. Bh2 $5) 15... c5 $17 {a classic Caro-Kann pawn lever.} (15... f6 16. Nd3 {saves the bishop, but doesn't prevent the pawn advance.} e5 17. dxe5 fxe5 18. Be3 c5 $17 {this variation is a better version of the ...c5 lever idea, with a large rolling pawn center for Black and White's king looking unsafe.}) (15... Rab8 { is preferred by Komodo, taking more direct advantage of the Ne4 placement and White's queenside weaknesses.}) 16. f3 $2 {creating a major dark square weakness for White. This is an "obvious move" to kick the knight, but...} (16. Bh6 $2 Bxe5 17. dxe5 Qxe5 $17 {is what I saw during the game.}) (16. O-O Rab8 $17) 16... cxd4 $1 {I spotted this tactic/intermediate move, the point being that the Ne5 is (temporarily) no longer sufficiently protected.} 17. cxd4 (17. fxe4 Bxe5 18. Bxe5 Qxe5 19. cxd4 Qxd4 $19) 17... Bb4+ {it was clear here that activating a piece along the d1-a5 diagonal would be best, but it was unclear to me which one. In the end I chose the "safer" alternative. Visually it also looked good, with my queen maybe able to penetrate on c2.} (17... Qa5+ { I also considered for a while, and Komodo considers it much superior. Black is able to break through in the different variations.} 18. Kf1 (18. Ke2 Bxe5 19. fxe4 f5 20. exf5 Bxf4 21. Qxf4 Rxf5 {and White's open king will be hunted down. }) 18... Qb5+ 19. Kg1 Qxb2 20. Kh2 Nf2 $19) 18. Kf1 {here I could not come up with much of a plan, other than exchanging pieces. Simply retreating the knight would have been fine.} Nd2+ $6 (18... Nf6 19. Qh4 Rac8 $17) 19. Kg1 { I was instead expecting a piece trade on d2, which would have left me with an unopposed, outstanding dark-square bishop. The text move attempts to hide the White king on the h-file, but takes additional time and leaves the king still exposed on a dark square.} (19. Bxd2 $2 {would in fact be much worse for White. } Bxd2 $19 {and now White's queenside is very weak, notably the b-pawn, and not defendable.}) 19... Rfe8 $6 {with the idea of supporting an eventual f6 and e5 advance. Unfortunately the rook placement on e8 is an error, as pointed out by the engine.} (19... Rfc8 {instead allows the knight to be extricated via c4, while protecting against White's Bh6 idea.} 20. Bh6 f5 21. Qg3 Nc4 $11) (19... Nc4 {is the safe alternative, not leaving the knight out on a ledge.}) 20. a3 $2 {another "obvious move" that fails, this time putting White back into losing territory for the rest of the game.} (20. Nd3 {is the way to accomplish White's idea, attacking the Bb4 while gaining a tempo by forcing Black's queen to move.} Qc4 21. Nxb4 Qxd4+ 22. Kh2 Qxb4 23. b3 $16 {and now the knight has no escape.}) 20... Nb3 {another intermediate move tactic, this time that saves the knight. I should have looked at this idea sooner, however, as White's move was actually a surprise.} 21. Rd1 Bd6 {now I can breathe easier. White has no good responses to the multiple threats down the c-file and on the b8-h2 diagonal.} 22. Kh2 (22. Nd3 $5 Rac8 23. Be5 Bxe5 24. dxe5 Qb6+ 25. Kh2 Rc2 $17) 22... f6 23. Nd3 Nxd4 {winning the d4 pawn is the the first concrete benefit I have to show for my positional advantages. I spotted this idea when first considering the plan of kicking the White knight with ..f6.} 24. Bxd6 Qxd6+ 25. Nf4 $2 {unnecessarily pinning a piece.} (25. f4) 25... Ne2 { not a very imaginative move, but there are multiple paths to victory and it utilizes the pin to good effect. I can win now by trading down into an endgame. } (25... h5 $1 {wins the Nf4 with a deflection tactic. I should have looked harder for other ways to exploit the pin.}) 26. g3 Nxf4 27. gxf4 {evidently hoping to try for some counterplay along the half-open g-file.} Rac8 $19 { finally I get the rook developed.} 28. Rc1 Rc7 {played to keep an eye on g7 while preparing to double on the c-file.} 29. Rhe1 Rce7 {here I decided that the c-file would be of no real use to White, while opening up and dominating the e-file would be to my benefit.} (29... Rxc1 {would be simpler and follow the rule of exchanging down rooks when in a winning position. White indeed can do nothing with the c-file, so logically this is superior than keeping the double rooks on.}) 30. Kh1 e5 31. fxe5 Rxe5 32. Rxe5 {at this point there's nothing better for White. Ceding the e-file to the doubled rooks would be worse.} Qxe5 {the piece trades have benefited my strategy of clearing the way for the passed d-pawn and dominating the e-file. The queen is very well placed on e5 for central mobility. At this point there is little doubt that I have a won game, but still have to win it.} 33. b4 Qe3 {this gives White too much latitude.} (33... f5) 34. Rg1 (34. Rc7 $5 {would be annoying.} g5 35. Rc8 Kg7 36. Rxe8 Qxe8 $17) 34... g6 {here it was nice to play a correct "obvious move". } 35. Rf1 f5 {now I get the idea of blocking the queen's penetration on the h3-c8 diagonal.} 36. Qg2 Qxa3 {at this point it really is "a matter of technique" for the win, although White still has a fair amount of fight to put up.} 37. f4 Kg7 38. Rb1 (38. Qxd5 Qxh3+) 38... Re3 {I originally thought this would be decisive, but White finds a good resource that I missed.} 39. Qb2+ Rc3 {not necessarily my first choice, but I touched the rook to capture the h3 pawn before I understood that the queen move was a check. My board sight failed me on the long diagonal here, in part probably due to tiredness. Luckily this changes nothing about the outcome.} 40. Qxa3 Rxa3 41. Kg2 { now my rook is more awkwardly placed and White has managed to protect the h-pawn, but the d-pawn is still dominant.} Ra6 {played to regroup the rook behind the d-pawn.} 42. b5 Rd6 43. Ra1 Rd7 {this is a safe place for the rook, from which I felt I could continue playing without worrying much about calculation.} 44. Kf3 d4 {passed pawns must be pushed!} 45. Ke2 Kf7 {actually sending the king to the wrong side. The Rd7 can cover everything while Black's king romps on the kingside.} (45... Kh6) 46. Ra6 Ke8 47. b6 {likely played out of a common Class player desire for simplication, which often is the wrong instinct.} axb6 48. Rxb6 d3+ 49. Kd2 Kf7 {here I calculated that the resulting K+P endgame would be winning, so did not have a problem jettisoning the d-pawn. } 50. Rb3 h6 51. Rxd3 {at this point Komodo shows a mate in 26 for Black.} (51. Rb5 $19) 51... Rxd3+ 52. Kxd3 g5 53. fxg5 hxg5 54. Ke3 Kg6 55. Kf3 Kh5 { again I head my king the less effective way.} (55... Kf6) 56. Kg3 f4+ 57. Kf3 Kh4 58. Kg2 {here I had some problems calculating the win due to fatigue, so repeated the position.} Kh5 59. Kf3 Kh4 60. Kg2 f3+ {the key move which I found, but had to make sure did not lead to stalemate.} 61. Kh2 g4 62. hxg4 Kxg4 63. Kh1 Kh3 64. Kg1 Kg3 {having gained the opposition the final time, the win is now evident.} 65. Kh1 Kf2 66. Kh2 Ke1 67. Kg1 f2+ 0-1

Annotated Game #158: Openings that aren't as bad as you think

The next tournament game features a provocative opening from my opponent (White), which however unusual, was not in fact bad.  This is a common theme in tournament play, where it can be easy to underestimate your opponent based on an unfamiliar or goofy-looking opening choice.  This can be as early as the opening move (1. b4!?) or, as in the below game, an early divergence.  These lines need to be evaluated critically and carefully and not simply dismissed as inferior, especially if your opponent has experience playing their pet lines.

In this game, the divergence comes quite early (3. g4) and is aggressive in nature, so had to be taken seriously; passive moves that diverge from standard "book" ones are obviously less of a threat.  I responded unevenly to the challenge and would have benefited from playing more according to opening principles, as shown in the annotations.  Among other things, I should have focused more on checking tactics in the openings (a recent theme) and concentrating on development and a central breakthrough once my opponent's king was stranded in the center.  Despite a flash of brilliance (moves 22-23) which should have led to a win, I let the game slip away and also missed a chance to win the resulting king and pawn endgame.  All in all, a very uneven performance, but I also give credit to my opponent, who played significantly stronger than his rating.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class D"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D00"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 8"] [PlyCount "94"] {D00:1 d4 d5: Unusual lines} 1. d4 d5 2. e3 Bf5 {played early to avoid White getting in Bd3 first. This has the disadvantage of allowing the game continuation, however.} 3. g4 {although this looks like a strictly beginner move, it's not as bad as it seems at first glance.} Be4 {the obvious "retreat" (forward) for the bishop, provoking the next move.} 4. f3 Bg6 5. h4 h6 (5... h5 6. g5 e6 7. Bd3 Bxd3 8. Qxd3 Bd6 9. f4 Ne7 10. Ne2 Nf5 11. Nd2 O-O 12. Nf3 c5 13. b3 Nc6 14. c3 a6 15. Bd2 b5 16. O-O c4 17. Qc2 Qc7 18. b4 a5 19. a3 Ra6 20. a4 axb4 21. axb5 b3 22. Qb2 Rxa1 23. Rxa1 Na7 24. Qb1 Nxb5 25. Bc1 Qb7 26. Kf2 Ra8 27. Rxa8+ Qxa8 28. Bb2 Ba3 29. Ba1 Nbd6 30. Ng3 Nxg3 31. Kxg3 Ne4+ 32. Kg2 b2 33. Bxb2 Qb7 {0-1 (33) Budrewicz,H (1603)-Mietek,L (1959) Mazowsze 2009}) 6. h5 Bh7 7. Bd3 Nf6 {a slightly unusual idea, but it gets Komodo's approval. The more conventional ...Bxd3 would also be fine, but I didn't want to leave White having the only piece developed and more space.} 8. c4 (8. Ne2 c5 $11) (8. Bxh7 Nxh7 $11 {controlling the g5 square is actually a valuable mission for the knight here}) 8... e6 {played as an "obvious" move, in order to develop the dark-square bishop. In the game I mis-evaluated the capture on d3 as benefiting White more, by developing the queen, but this is simply not the case. Taking on c4 and making the bishop effectively waste a tempo by recapturing is also a good option.} (8... Bxd3 9. Qxd3 Nc6 $11) (8... dxc4 9. Bxc4 e6 $11) 9. c5 $6 {this is a classic Class player mistake. The pawn chain is over-extended and can be immediately challenged and broken...although unfortunately this is not something I do.} (9. Bxh7 Rxh7 10. cxd5 Nxd5 $11) 9... Be7 {again played automatically, although it is not bad in itself.} (9... Bxd3 10. Qxd3 b6 11. cxb6 (11. b4 a5 $17) 11... axb6 $17 {Black will now be able to challenge for central control and gain space with ...c5, while the dark-square bishop will find a good home on d6 or e7 and help dominate the dark squares.}) 10. Nc3 Nc6 {again, not a bad move, but I am simply not understanding the needs of the position (challenge the advanced c-pawn and trade off the Bd3, as in the previous variation).} 11. Nge2 e5 {this is a bit premature.} (11... Bxd3 12. Qxd3 O-O {better prepares Black for the central struggle.}) 12. Bxh7 Nxh7 13. Qb3 {this was very annoying and something that I had not spotted, which resulted from a failure to check tactics in the opening phase. Now I place too much emphasis on the material, rather than development, which is a mistake. The fact that White's king is in the center should signal that development and a quick central breakthrough is the key to the position.} Bh4+ $6 {taking advantage of White's dark-square holes, but in a premature way. The major problem with the move is that the Qd8 is now tied to the Bh4's defense.} (13... O-O $5 14. Qxd5 (14. Qxb7 $6 Qd7 15. Qb3 Rad8 $17 {with ... Ng5 to follow, giving Black major pressure in the center and the kingside.}) 14... Bf6 {and Black has full compensation for the pawn, for example} 15. Qxd8 Raxd8 16. dxe5 Nxe5 17. O-O Rfe8 18. Kg2 Nd3 $11) 14. Kd1 $14 O-O $6 {this would now allow a legitimate snatch of the b7 pawn by White, but my opponent does not take advantage of the opportunity.} (14... exd4 {can be played immediately.} 15. exd4 Rb8 16. Qxd5 Bf2 17. Bf4 Bxd4 18. Qxd8+ Kxd8 $14) 15. Nxd5 $6 {taking the wrong pawn.} (15. Qxb7 exd4 16. exd4 Qf6 17. Rxh4 Qxh4 18. Qxc6 $16) 15... exd4 $15 16. e4 {although the previous move correctly supported the Nd5, the d4 pawn is now a thorn in White's side.} Na5 (16... Nf6 $5 {bringing the knight back into play is better, as the b7 pawn is tactically protected. For example} 17. Qxb7 $4 Nxd5 18. exd5 Qxd5 $19 {and Black is dominant.}) 17. Qd3 Be7 $2 {played to get the bishop out of the line of fire, but ignoring White's potential threat.} (17... c6 $5 18. Ndf4 b6 $11) 18. b4 ( 18. Bf4 $1 Bxc5 19. Bxc7 Qd7 20. Bxa5 Qa4+ 21. Kc1 Qxa5 22. a3 Qa6 23. Qxa6 bxa6 $16 {gives White an easy plus, as Black finds the d4 pawn hard to protect and has doubled a-pawns.}) 18... Nc6 $11 19. Bb2 {threatening the d-pawn, but this is not so critical.} (19. Bf4 $5 {is best, but no longer packs the same punch as in the previous variation.} a5 20. Bxc7 Qd7 $11 {and White has too many things to worry about (the b4 pawn, the c7 bishop, etc.) to be able to consolidate the pawn advantage. Not to mention that his king is stuck in the center.}) 19... Nf6 $15 20. Nxe7+ {my opponent understands that simply capturing the d-pawn is not good, but this actually makes things worse for him. Part of his problem is that the Qd3 is hanging, giving Black some tactical ideas.} (20. Nxd4 Nxd5 21. Nxc6 bxc6 22. exd5 Rb8 $17) 20... Qxe7 $17 21. a3 $2 {an obvious move, to reinforce the b-pawn, but now Black's forces swing into action.} (21. Ng3 $5 $17) 21... Ne5 22. Qb3 d3 $19 23. Nd4 Nxf3 $1 {this should have been the winning move, cracking open the center.} 24. Qxd3 (24. Nxf3 $2 Qxe4) 24... Nxd4 25. Bxd4 Rad8 26. Kc2 Nxg4 $17 {obvious, but not best. Conceptually, it would be better to bring other pieces into the attack first. Also, White has an obvious response that generates a threat.} (26... Qe6 $5 27. Rhe1 $19) (26... Rfe8 $19) 27. Rhg1 Rxd4 $6 {this was unnecessary.} (27... Qe6 $5 $17 {is something that I completely missed, a subtle queen move that solves Black's problems.}) 28. Qxd4 $15 Rd8 29. Qxd8+ Qxd8 30. Rxg4 {at this point I started thinking draw, although the engine shows an advantage for Black. Queen endings are tricky in general. In this case, I had an ideal one, with White's king being in the open and lots of space for my queen to maneuver.} Qd4 31. Rag1 Qf2+ (31... Kf8 $5 $17) 32. Kb3 Qd4 {showing a lack of imagination.} ( 32... Qf3+ 33. Ka4 Kf8 34. Rxg7 Qxe4 $17) 33. Rxg7+ Qxg7 {heading for a drawn K+P ending.} 34. Rxg7+ Kxg7 35. e5 $2 {I knew this was a mistake, although I didn't take full advantage of it. The pawn is unsupported and can be traded off to Black's benefit.} (35. Kc4 $5 $11 {might be a viable alternative}) 35... f5 (35... f6 $1 36. exf6+ Kxf6 $19) 36. Kc3 {correctly not exchanging.} Kf7 37. Kd4 Ke6 38. a4 $2 {unfortunately my lack of endgame familiarity leads me to miss the win.} (38. b5 c6 39. a4 f4 $15) 38... f4 (38... a6 $19 {and Black gets the upper hand.}) 39. Ke4 f3 40. Kxf3 Kxe5 41. Kg4 b6 (41... c6 $5 42. Kf3 a6 43. Ke3 Kf5 44. Kd4 Kf4 45. b5 a5) 42. c6 (42. cxb6 cxb6 43. a5 b5 $15) 42... a5 (42... a6 $5 $15) 43. b5 $11 {and now there's no escaping the draw, for either player.} Ke4 44. Kg3 Ke3 45. Kg4 Ke4 46. Kg3 Ke3 {Twofold repetition } 47. Kg4 Ke4 1/2-1/2

Annotated Game #221: The saving exchange sacrifice

This third-round tournament game features a saving exchange sacrifice by White (me) after a missed tactic by Black. Unlike the second-round game (Annotated Game #220), this one is not nearly as much of a swindle, although under a strict definition it might fall into that category. Some other familiar recent themes crop up as well:

• Inferior opening play that results in increasingly difficult or simply bad choices while under pressure.
• Tactical recovery after an opportunity is spotted. In this case, it is the theme of an exchange sacrifice against a castled king position, doubling the pawns and opening up the defenses. More typically this is seen in the Sicilian, when Black sacrifices a rook for a knight on c3 after White has castled queenside. This game is the mirror image of that.
• An "obvious move" being in fact a mistake, in this case leading directly to the loss.
• Consciously choosing to win safely and simply, rather than trying to win by finding the "best" line. You don't get extra credit in a tournament for winning faster or more brilliantly.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class B"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A11"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 11.2"] [PlyCount "45"] {[%mdl 8192] A11: English Opening: 1...c6} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 c6 {indicating that Black is heading for a Semi-Slav setup.} 5. b3 Bd6 6. Bb2 Nbd7 7. Be2 a6 (7... Qe7 8. Qc2 O-O 9. O-O Ba3 10. Bxa3 Qxa3 11. d4 Qe7 12. e4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 c5 14. Rad1 cxd4 15. Nxd4 Nxe4 16. Qxe4 Qc5 17. Nb5 Nf6 18. Qe3 Qxe3 19. fxe3 Bd7 20. Nd6 b6 21. Bf3 Rab8 22. Rd2 {Koneru,H (2614)-Ruan,L (2479) Rostov on Don 2011 1-0 (49)}) 8. O-O {this is playable, but d4 likely has to be played anyway, so perhaps now would be a better time.} (8. d4 b5 9. O-O O-O 10. Qc2 Bb7 11. c5 Bc7 12. b4 e5 13. a4 Ng4 14. h3 Nh6 15. axb5 axb5 16. Rxa8 Bxa8 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Bxe5 19. Bd3 f5 20. Ne2 Qf6 21. Bd4 Bb7 22. Qb2 Nf7 {Darban,M (2300)-Eren,A (2064) Istanbul 2017 1-0 (38)}) 8... e5 9. cxd5 (9. d4 $5 e4 10. Nd2 $11 {White has more play here than in the actual game.}) 9... cxd5 10. d4 $146 {after Black's natural follow-up move, he then has a strong center, a space advantage, and most of the play in the position.} (10. d3 {is no better.} O-O 11. Rc1 Qe7 12. Qc2 b5 13. a4 b4 14. Na2 Bb7 15. d4 e4 16. Ne5 Rac8 17. Qd2 a5 18. Nxd7 Nxd7 19. Rxc8 Bxc8 20. Rc1 f5 21. g3 g5 22. f4 exf3 23. Bxf3 Nf6 24. Qd3 Bd7 {Taimanov,M (2407)-Marchio,E (2272) Germany 2003 0-1 (54)}) (10. b4 $5 {is Komodo's suggestion for a pawn sacrifice, although it can be safely ignored by Black.} O-O (10... Bxb4 11. Qb3 Qa5 12. d4 e4 13. Ne5 $11) 11. b5 e4 12. Nd4 $11) 10... e4 11. Nd2 Qe7 12. Kh1 {not a horrible move, but White is already having problems finding any good moves. I was fearful of potential tactics involving ...Bxh2+ and decided to move the king as a precaution.} (12. a4 $5 {restraining ...b5, which would allow Black to develop the Bc8 and Nd7.} O-O 13. Re1 $11) 12... O-O 13. f3 $2 {in some cases, this is a useful freeing move by White. However, I have not done the necessary preparation for it, namely protecting e3.} exf3 $17 14. Bxf3 Qxe3 15. Nxd5 {This was my original idea behind initiating the sequence, regaining the pawn and freeing my pieces up for more activity. However, it has a major flaw.} Nxd5 16. Bxd5 Nf6 $2 {my opponent misses the available tactic and instead presents me with a welcome opportunity to sacrifice the exchange for counterplay.} (16... Qh6 {threatening h2 should put Black comfortably ahead.} 17. g3 Nf6 {now the Bd5 and the g3 pawn (due to the pin on the h-pawn) are both hanging.} 18. Rxf6 Qxf6 $19) 17. Rxf6 $11 gxf6 18. Ne4 {a strong follow-up, forking d6 and f6. In calculating it, I also noticed the fact that the Black queen has very few squares left. My opponent now plays the "obvious move", removing the Bd6 from threat and protecting f6, which however loses.} Be7 $4 (18... Qf4 {defends and keeps things relatively equal, although I still prefer to play White.} 19. Qg1 Be7 20. Rf1 Qh6 21. Ng3) 19. Bc1 $18 {a backwards bishop move that returns it to its original square, making it more difficult to see/visualize. Our natural mental assumption is that pieces move forward and don't un-develop themselves.} Qxe4 20. Bxe4 {with a queen for a rook and Black's open king position, the win is essentially trivial from here.} f5 21. Bd3 {a simple way to continue winning. I thought for a bit before retreating the bishop, since there are some tactical possibilities available. However, it did not seem worth the effort to calculate multiple sacrificial lines to try to 'win better'.} (21. Qf3 $5 {is the computer line.} fxe4 22. Qg3+ Bg4 (22... Kh8 23. Qe5+ f6 24. Qxe7 $18) 23. Qxg4+ Kh8 $18) 21... Be6 22. Qf3 Rad8 23. Bh6 {with either further material loss or mate coming, Black resigned.} 1-0

Annotated Game #175: Epic Stonewall exhaustion

This final round tournament game followed Annotated Game #174 and was the first time that I had essayed playing the Stonewall Dutch, outside of a simul game with GM Sam Shankland.  It taught me a lot about the opening, above all the need for patience (which I did not have enough of) when constructing a kingside attack.  There are many ups and downs in the course of the game - the critical phase starts at move 28 and goes all the way to the end of the game - and we were one of the last ones to finish in the round.  The toll of fighting a complicated battle for 30 moves straight along with the psychological downward trend in the end did me in, as I was exhausted from what felt like an epic fight, with my opponent on the ropes but eventually coming back.  However, there will be other opportunities.  It's also another data point telling me that energy management is something critical to watch (and improve) for my overall performance.

On that note, it's worth recalling something GM Viktor Kortchnoi said when asked about when someone should start playing a new opening they are in the process of learning.  Basically he asserted that you should just go ahead and start playing it in serious games, why not?  Losses will be inevitable, but there's really no other way to get better at it.  I like this outlook, which shouldn't be taken too literally by Class players - some preparation and study is essential, beyond just knowing the first few moves of a chosen opening - but it helps avoid the perfectionist trap of always thinking that your preparation is never "good enough" to play.  At some point, you just need to fire away.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class C"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A85"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 10"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2016.10.10"] [EventType "schev"] [EventRounds "5"] {[%mdl 8192] A85: Dutch Defence: 2 c4 Nf6 3 Nc3} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 e6 ( 3... Nf6 {is the Slav Defense.}) 4. e3 f5 {with this move-order we have what is called a "Slav Stonewall".} 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Bd3 Bd6 {the Modern Stonewall, instead of ...Be7.} 7. O-O Nbd7 {...O-O immediately is much more common here. No reason to wait.} 8. b3 {a standard plan for activating the dark-square bishop.} O-O 9. a4 {done to allow the bishop to get to a3 and exchange off its counterpart on d6.} Ne4 {a standard and often necessary move for Black in the Stonewall. In this position it is forcing, as the Nc3 is unprotected.} 10. Ne2 Qe7 {keeping my options open and also deterring Ba3.} 11. Ne1 {I welcomed this, as I felt it was a waste of time for White. The intent is obvious, to push f3, but moving the knight back to the first rank does not seem worth it.} g5 { I was in an aggressive mood from the start of the game and this move shows it. Not a very sophisticated approach.} (11... a5 $5 {would be good prophylaxis against White's queenside play.} 12. f3 Ng5 13. Qc2 $11) 12. f3 $14 Nef6 13. Nc2 g4 {a logical follow-up, as Komodo agrees.} (13... Kh8 {however might have been best to play immediately, as the king needs to vacate the g-file for a rook and I only do this much later in the game.}) 14. Ba3 c5 $6 {not a good decision, although my opponent does not take advantage of it.} (14... Bxa3 { is what the engine considers best. During the game, I wanted to preserve the bishop for use in the kingside attack.} 15. Nxa3 Kh8 $14) 15. dxc5 (15. cxd5 $5 {dissolves the center to White's advantage.} Nxd5 16. e4 gxf3 17. exd5 fxe2 18. Qxe2 $16) 15... Nxc5 16. b4 $2 {now my opponent is too aggressive.} Nxd3 $15 17. Qxd3 b6 $6 {it seems that I am not really looking hard at the position and its requirements. Developing the Bc8 is a nice idea, but there are other things that are more urgent, given the pawn tensions at f3 and c4 and a potential weakness at h2.} (17... gxf3 {would be the direct approach.} 18. Rxf3 dxc4 19. Qxc4 b5 20. Qxb5 Qc7 $15) (17... Qc7 {gives White no good options.} 18. cxd5 Bxh2+ 19. Kh1 Be5 $15) 18. cxd5 {this would have been strong earlier (move 15), but now I'm OK.} Nxd5 (18... gxf3 $5 {is better, as once the Nf6 moves away it no longer can recapture on g4 and get a good outpost.} 19. gxf3 ( 19. Rxf3 Bb7 $15) 19... Nxd5 $15) 19. b5 {my opponent now looks to simplify.} ( 19. fxg4 {would break up Black's kingside to good effect.} Qc7 20. g3 fxg4 21. Ncd4 $14) 19... Bxa3 $11 20. Qxa3 Bb7 21. Qxe7 Nxe7 $11 {we now have a very equal-looking middle/endgame position.} 22. f4 Rac8 23. Ncd4 {threatening e6.} Kf7 24. Rac1 $6 {this "obvious move" gives me the initiative as my Ne7 now springs to life.} (24. Kf2 $11) 24... Nd5 $15 {returning the favor by threatening e3.} 25. Kf2 Nb4 {threatening the fork on d3.} 26. Rb1 (26. Rfd1 Rxc1 27. Nxc1 Be4 $15) 26... Nd3+ {this is still a strong move.} 27. Kg3 $17 { White's king safety is now something of a problem, which along with my nicely centralized Nd3 gives me an advantage.} (27. Kg1 h5 $17) 27... h5 {here I correctly find the logical follow-up, which raises mate threats.} 28. Rfd1 $2 { this should lose, but the winning continuation is not obvious.} (28. h4 gxh3 29. Kxh3 Rg8 $17) 28... Be4 {a good follow-up move, but not nearly as good as the best move.} (28... h4+ {secures the point, comments the engine via the Fritz interface.} 29. Kxh4 Nf2 $1 {now the White king has no way back.} 30. Kg3 $2 (30. Nxe6 Rh8+ 31. Kg5 Kxe6 $19) (30. Nxf5 Rh8+ 31. Kg3 Ne4+ 32. Kxg4 Rcg8+ 33. Kf3 Nd2+ 34. Kf2 Rxg2+ $19) 30... Ne4+ 31. Kh4 Rh8#) 29. Nc6 $17 {eyeing the jump to e5 and threatening a7, something I gave too much weight to.} Rh8 $2 {now I'm not thinking aggressively enough.} (29... Kf6 {removes the check on e5.} 30. Nc3 h4+ 31. Kxh4 Nc5 $17) 30. Kh4 {this is enough to restore equality. } (30. Rxd3 $1 {is a simple forking tactic that gets two pieces for a rook.} Bxd3 31. Ne5+ Kf6 32. Nxd3 $16) 30... Nc5 31. Rb4 {this solves the dual threat to the Rb1 and a4, but not in the best way.} (31. Ne5+ $5 Kf6 32. Rbc1 $11 { and now Black cannot go pawn snatching:} Bxg2 (32... Nxa4 $4 33. Rd7 $1 { with mate coming.}) 33. Rxc5 Rxc5 34. Rd7 {and now} Rxe5 {is forced.} 35. fxe5+ Kxe5 36. Nf4 $14 {snagging the bishop, as a fork on g6 is threatened.}) 31... Bxg2 $15 (31... Bxc6 {was the other option.} 32. bxc6 Rxc6 $15 {this had the advantage of getting rid of preventing the knight from reaching e5.}) 32. Ne5+ {I was quite aware of the fact that I had potential mating threats, but now so does White, given the location of his knight and potential rook action on the 7th rank.} Kf6 33. Ng3 {naturally the h5 pawn is poisoned and can't be taken, due to the subsequent pin against the king.} Bd5 34. Rbd4 $6 (34. Rc1 $5) 34... Nb3 {the best move, but at this point I was tired and had relatively little time on the clock, so I didn't have a coherent follow-up plan.} 35. R4d3 $2 { looks obvious, but should lose.} (35. Rxd5 {is necessary and only leaves White slightly worse.} exd5 36. Rxd5 $15) 35... Rc2 $19 {again another best move and obvious follow-up, but without clear vision of a winning continuation. However, the next series of moves are simple enough.} 36. Nf1 Rhc8 37. Nd7+ Ke7 38. Ne5 Nc5 {good but perhaps not best. I felt I should at least keep making threats, feeling somewhat frustrated that I could not find a breakthrough.} 39. Rd4 Kf6 {played to take away the g5 square from White's king.} 40. h3 {now I felt I should be able to break through.} gxh3 41. Kxh3 Bg2+ {unfortunately here I could not find a winning idea, under pressure.} (41... Ne4 $5 {would bring another necessary piece into the attack, since d7 does not in fact need to be guarded.} 42. Nd7+ (42. Rxe4 fxe4 43. Ng3 Rc1 $19) 42... Ke7 43. Ne5 Rg8 44. Rxe4 Rg1 $19 {and mate threats mean White loses material.}) 42. Kh4 Bd5 43. Kh3 Rg8 (43... Ne4 {again is the key.} 44. Rxe4 fxe4 45. Ng3 Rc1 $19) 44. Ng3 h4 ( 44... Rg2 {Black missed this excellent chance, comments the engine.} 45. Nxh5+ Ke7 46. Nc6+ Kd6 $19) (44... Rh8 {is also good, preparing to push the h-pawn.}) 45. Nh5+ $17 Ke7 46. Nc6+ Kf8 {now we're back to equality...} (46... Bxc6 47. bxc6 Rgg2 $17) 47. Nf6 $2 {except that this (again) should lose for my opponent.} (47. Rxd5 {leads to a perpetual.} exd5 48. Rxd5 $11 {for example} Rg1 49. Rxf5+ Ke8 50. Nf6+ Kf8 51. Nh5+ Ke8 {etc.}) 47... Rgg2 48. Rh1 Ne4 $6 { unfortunately this was a good idea several moves ago, not now.} (48... Rg3+ { and Black wins} 49. Kxh4 {forced} Rg6 {with a double attack on the Nf6 and the h6 square (threatening the Rh1 via a skewer check).} 50. Rxd5 exd5 $19) (48... Rg6 $6 {immediately doesn't work, as White simply replies Nxd5.}) 49. Nxe4 $15 Bxe4 50. Rd8+ Kg7 51. Rd7+ $2 {again my opponent offers up an opportunity.} ( 51. Ne5 $11) 51... Kh6 $19 52. Ne5 Rg3+ {a great idea...on move 48. Here it blows the discovered attack by the Be4 on the Ra1, since the Rg3 will be hanging.} (52... Rgf2 {moving to e2 works fine as well.} 53. Kxh4 {forced} Bxh1 54. Nf7+ Kg7 55. Ne5+ Kf8 $19) 53. Kxh4 $11 {by this point I'm totally exhausted and out of ideas.} Rg7 {simplification is actually a good route to go and should result in a draw.} 54. Rh3 Rxd7 55. Nxd7 Rg2 {keeping hopes of a mate threat alive.} 56. Ne5 {The knight dominates, comments the engine (correctly).} Bc2 57. Rh1 Bxa4 58. Ra1 Bxb5 59. Rxa7 Be8 $2 {this really made no sense, but my brain was too tired from all the calculating and I missed the simple follow-up. The original idea was to dominate the Ne5.} (59... Rg7 { was simplest.}) 60. Re7 {at this point I just gave up, seeing that I would lose the two pawns and was exhausted. The game is far from over, though.} (60. Re7 Ba4 61. Rxe6+ Kg7 62. Rxb6 $14) 1-0

Annotated Game #197: Play the long game when needing a win

Having lost in the previous two rounds, including rather shamefully in round 3, I very much needed a turnaround win in this tournament.  "Needing" a win can, however, be a dangerous state of mind, like when gamblers keep making larger and riskier bets to try to catch back up to where they think they should be; it rarely ends up well.  Here I will give myself credit for having enough patience to "play the long game" and recognize the need to patiently maneuver, rather than try to break through prematurely, although my play was not necessarily optimal along the way.

There are a couple of key strategic moments that lead to the win.  The first comes at move 26, where I correctly realized that pawn breaks on the queenside, where both my opponent and I had castled, would favor me (Black).  About 20 moves later in a double rook endgame, I find the final breakthrough idea, involving a temporary rook sacrifice with a deflection tactic (which the engine awards a '!!' in its analysis).

That said, this game's analysis is perhaps even more valuable for me in the long term for the missed ideas, for both myself and my opponent, which will help me refine my understanding of the middlegame structures in the Classical Caro-Kann.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class C"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B18"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 11.2"] [PlyCount "122"] {[%mdl 8256] B18: Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 sidelines} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. Bd3 {a solid but unambitious continuation for White.} e6 {I judged it better to make a developing move (releasing the Bf8) rather than exchanging on d3. Having the bishop exchanged on g6 can sometimes weaken Black's king position, but here it's not yet a concern. Primarily Black has to worry about sacrifices on g6 that undermine the e6 pawn, and/or play up the h-file once the king is castled.} 8. Bg5 Be7 9. Bxg6 hxg6 10. Qd3 Nbd7 {it's standard to develop the queen's knight before castling, in part to provide the option of castling queenside.} 11. O-O-O { consistent with the idea of exchanging on g6 and hoping for active play on the kingside.} Nd5 {my plan here is to clarify the situation on the kingside by encouraging the trade of the Bg5, then castle queenside, which I felt was more solid than castling kingside. Black should be careful about bringing a knight to d5 in the Classical Caro-Kann, however, when it can be chased off by the c-pawn.} (11... Qc7 $5) 12. Bxe7 {my opponent goes for the obvious response, exchanging on e7.} (12. h4 {would be a more challenging response, putting the onus back on Black. Exchanging on g5 would not be good, as the h-file could then be opened to White's benefit.} Bxg5+ $2 (12... b5 {is the engine's choice, starting immediate counterplay on the queenside}) 13. hxg5 Rxh1 14. Rxh1 $16) 12... Qxe7 13. Qd2 O-O-O 14. Ne2 (14. c4 $5 Nc7 $14) 14... N7f6 (14... e5 { instead would be a thematic pawn break. Black is well positioned to play in the center.} 15. Nc3 Nxc3 16. Qxc3 e4 $11 {the pawn can be reinforced by ...f5 and Black has a comfortable, if no more than equal, game.}) 15. Kb1 {keeping an eye on the weak a-pawn and clearing the c1 square.} Ne4 {the original intent behind the previous knight move, taking an active central position.} ( 15... Ng4 $6 {hitting the f2 square looks tempting, but White can protect everything and effectively re-deploy his Ne2 at the same time.} 16. Nc1 $14 { and there are no good follow-ups to the previous one-move threat.}) 16. Qe1 { forced} Ndf6 {here I was trying to anticipate a c4 push and proactively re-deploy the knight.} (16... Qb4 {Komodo prefers this more assertive approach, activating the queen and preventing c4.} 17. c3 (17. Qxb4 Nxb4 18. Rhf1 g5 19. h3 f6 $11) 17... Qb5 18. Ka1 $11) 17. Nd2 {it's difficult here for White to come up with a useful plan, although the position is equal.} (17. h3 Kb8 $11) 17... Nxd2+ {the correct decision, improving the relative value of my minor pieces.} 18. Rxd2 Ne4 {obvious, but unimaginative.} (18... e5 $5 {would be a bit more challenging.}) 19. Rd1 Qf6 {the right general idea, of activating the queen, here with the intention of pressuring both f2 and d4. However, g5 may have been a better square for the queen, pressuring the g-file and the d2 square.} 20. f3 {the obvious reaction.} Nd6 {the position here is quite balanced now. It will require patient maneuvering.} 21. Ng3 Nb5 {Increases the pressure on d4, but again this is easily solved by White.} 22. c3 Rd7 { continuing with the single-minded idea of building up pressure on the d-file.} (22... Qf4 {would at least move the queen to a better square.}) 23. Ka1 (23. Ne4 {is an idea that my opponent seemed to miss. Although it's not enough for a real advantage, initiative shifts to White and Black has to be careful about things like covering the c5 square.} Qf5 24. Qe3 b6 $11) 23... Rhd8 {the problem with this is that the rooks now both have less space to work with, and the Ne4 idea gets better as a result. Luckily my opponent fails to find it.} ( 23... Nd6) 24. a4 {White makes the decision to weaken his kingside shield, apparently optimistic about the pawn push.} ({Instead} 24. Ne4 Qe7 25. Nc5 Rd6 $14 {is rather awkward for Black.}) 24... Nd6 25. Rd3 Qe7 {redeploying now with an eye toward the weakened queenside.} 26. b3 $6 {although this covers c4, it makes the next move more effective in punching holes in White's pawn shield. } (26. Qe2 Nf5 $11) 26... b5 {this break favors Black, who is better positioned with both the heavy pieces and his knight to exploit the resulting holes on the queenside.} 27. axb5 $6 {this simply plays into my plan. White instead should move the queen onto a better defensive square, for example e2 (covering the 2nd rank) or b1.} Nxb5 $17 28. Qc1 c5 {the best follow-up. Now the rooks on the d-file can make their pressure felt.} (28... e5 {is not as effective due to} 29. Re3 $15 {pinning the e-pawn and getting the rook away from the d-file threat.}) 29. Ne2 e5 {with the added pressure on d4, now this move is effective.} 30. d5 (30. Re3 f6 31. f4 e4 $17) 30... e4 $2 {this looks aggressive but would allow White to stablize the center.} (30... Rxd5 $5 { is simple and breaks through immediately.} 31. Rxd5 Rxd5 $17 32. Rd1 Rxd1 33. Qxd1 Qd6 {heading for a pawn-up endgame.}) 31. fxe4 $6 (31. Re3 {holds things together.} Qf6 (31... f5 $6 32. c4 Nd4 33. fxe4 $14) 32. fxe4 $11) 31... Qxe4 { Black forks: d3, g2+e2} 32. Qe3 {now White forks: c5+e4} (32. Re3 $5 Qxg2 33. c4 Nd6 $15) 32... Qxg2 {after some thought, I mis-evaluated the possible continuations, although the text move is still fine for Black, and perhaps represents the best practical chances for an advantage.} (32... Qxe3 33. Rxe3 Rxd5 $15 {and White has some compensation for the pawn, although the engine doesn't think it's enough to offset Black's advantage. I was worried about} 34. c4 {but} Rd1+ 35. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 36. Kb2 Nd6 $15 {should be fine, because after} 37. Re7 {White's rook can't take advantage of the 7th rank due to the rook fork on d2.}) 33. Qf3 $2 (33. Rhd1 {is the only good defensive move here, but White I'm sure didn't want to abandon the h-pawn.} c4 (33... Qxh2) 34. R3d2 Rxd5 35. Nd4 $11) (33. Qxc5+ {doesn't work, although it's a rougher ride for Black:} Nc7 (33... Rc7 $15 {is perhaps the easier route to go}) 34. Rhd1 $5 Qxe2 35. d6 Rh8 36. R1d2 (36. dxc7 $2 Rxd3 37. Rxd3 Qxd3 38. Ka2) 36... Qe4 37. Rd4 Qh1+ 38. Rd1 Qb7 39. dxc7 Qxc7 $17) 33... Qxf3 {now I make the correct evalution and exchange queens.} 34. Rxf3 f6 {here I choose safety over activity, which is not usually the way to go in rook endings. It's still enough to maintain the advantage, though.} (34... Rxd5 $1 35. c4 Rd1+ {we saw this idea in a previous variation} 36. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 37. Kb2 Rd2+ 38. Kc1 Rxe2 39. cxb5 Re7 $19 {and now Black can consolidate the two-pawn advantage without much trouble.}) 35. c4 Nd6 {this looked like the obvious move to me, but the engine disagrees. It also again shows how rook activity should be maximized.} ( 35... Re8 $5 36. Rf2 Rde7 $17) 36. Nc3 {this is a much less effective square for the White knight. Evidently my opponent's idea was to cover the e4 square.} (36. Nf4 $5 $14 {goes after the weak kingside g-pawn, en route to an excellent post at e6.}) 36... Re8 {now I start activating the rooks.} 37. Rhf1 (37. Na4 Rc7 $15) 37... Rde7 38. R1f2 $6 {this doesn't make a lot of sense, as the knight is currently covering the e2 square, so penetration on the 2nd rank isn't an immediate concern.} Ne4 (38... g5 $5 {looks like a good preliminary move, protecting the g-pawn and threatening ...g4 at some point, as White has nothing constructive to do in the meantime.}) 39. Nxe4 Rxe4 {here I felt confident that although White has the passed d-pawn, my rooks were better and could do more damage with White's knight out of the way. It's a somewhat premature simplification, though, and could allow White to more easily equalize.} 40. Kb1 (40. Kb2 {would be better, protecting the b-pawn and getting closer to the action.}) 40... Re1+ 41. Kc2 Kd7 (41... Rh8 $5) 42. Kd2 ( 42. h4 {is the key idea for White, fixing the g-pawn on g6 and allowing White to pressure on the g-file, for example} R1e4 43. Rg2 Rxh4 44. Rxg6 Re7 $11) 42... a5 {not a bad move, but both I and my opponent continue to ignore the ideas around g5 for Black and h4 for White.} 43. Rg3 Ra1 {the idea being to switch focus and break through on the queenside.} 44. Rgg2 $2 (44. Kc3 { and White hangs on} g5 45. h4 $11) 44... a4 45. bxa4 {it's better to take than to allow Black to create a passed a-pawn, but White is still in a great deal of difficulty.} Rxa4 46. Kd3 g5 {ironically, this is no longer Black's best move, although it is still good.} (46... Ra3+ 47. Kc2 g5 $19) 47. Rc2 $2 (47. Ra2 $5 {this is the defensive idea for White that the rook check on a3 would have prevented.} Rxa2 48. Rxa2 $17) 47... Ra3+ {now I find the idea.} 48. Rc3 { this would be an equally good defense, except for} Re3+ $3 {Komodo gave the exclamation points via the Fritz interface, so I've left them in as coming from an objective source. This is an aesthetically pleasing deflection tactic that forces a breakthrough on the queenside.} 49. Kxe3 Rxc3+ 50. Ke4 Rxc4+ 51. Kf5 Rd4 52. Kg6 Rxd5 53. Kxg7 Rd6 {not the quickest route to victory, but I was playing conservatively to keep the win in hand.} 54. Kg6 c4 {passed pawns must be pushed!} 55. Rc2 Rc6 56. Kf5 Rc5+ {although this gives back a pawn, it permanently bars White's king from the fight to prevent the pawn from queening. } 57. Kxf6 Kc6 {now Black wins with a simple king march.} 58. Kg6 Kb5 59. h3 c3 60. Rxc3 Rxc3 61. Kxg5 Rxh3 0-1

Annotated Game #218: The saving backwards move

This game falls into the category of a cringeworthy win. In the last round of the tournament, I faced someone of comparable strength, after having performed well in the previous three rounds. The course of the game I believe is explained more by psychological and "visual" factors than anything else. The one concrete takeaway from the analysis was the reason behind my error on move 11, which is a valuable teaching point in this variation of the Classical Caro-Kann.

In any event, after this White quickly assumes a dominant-looking position on the kingside, which I compound by an unwillingness to violate standard principles and give up the right to castle, which would have yielded an acceptable game. White makes an "obvious move" (the perils of which I've posted about before) on move 16 and I should have been able to effectively respond and turn the tables on him. However, I find only the second-best move and then fail to identify the right strategy, which would be to sacrifice the f- and g-pawns in return for real counterplay for my rooks and against White's airy king position. Instead, I unnecessarily sacrifice a bishop in return for some temporary, if awkward-looking, threats. My opponent, instead of pressing his advantage immediately, starts focusing on my psuedo-threats, however. This mistake leads to the opportunity for a backwards bishop move that forks king and queen and immediately wins. These types of backwards moves have a higher chance of being overlooked in calculation, since they appear to be considered less natural to the brain's board vision, unless you enforce a disciplined thinking process about considering candidate moves.

Although it wasn't really skill that decided this game, I will give some credit at least to the positive value of not giving up and the idea of seeking to pose problems for your opponent, who is thereby given the chance to go astray.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class B"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B19"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 11.2"] [PlyCount "52"] {[%mdl 8192] B19: Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 main line} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nf6 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bc4 e6 { as well as providing an outlet for the bishop, this also anticipates Ne5 and a threat to f7.} 10. Qe2 Be7 11. Ne5 $146 {although a novelty, it's the logical continuation for White after Bc4 and Qe2. Typically there are sacrificial ideas on f7/e6.} Nd5 {in an analagous position in the 8. Ne5 line, before Black has played ...Be7, this is the main defensive move, and is necessary to block a sacrifice on e6. However, here it's not needed, as the e-file is already blocked and there are no tactics for White.} (11... O-O $11 {Komodo prefers the plan of immediate castling, followed by ...Nbd7, to exchange off the Ne5.}) 12. Qg4 {this is the problem with the knight move, although Black is still OK.} Bf6 $6 {I thought this was a logical move to protect g7 and also get the bishop to a slightly better square.} (12... Rg8 $5 {giving up the right to castle kingside seems unnatural, but Black defends easily here. We will see later how the weak g-pawn becomes a real problem.} 13. Qf3 Rf8 { and it is slightly awkward for Black, but there are no weak points.}) 13. O-O ( 13. Bd3 {is a better try for an advantage, as the bishop is not doing anything on c4.} Bxd3 14. Nxd3 $14) 13... Nd7 {developing and challenging e5.} (13... Bxc2 {is possible here, but I was wary of pawn snatching in the opening while behind in development.}) 14. Re1 Nxe5 (14... Bxe5 $5 15. dxe5 g5 $14 {this solves the g-pawn problem by force, although leaving some holes behind.}) 15. dxe5 $14 Bg5 {now the bishop is boxed in and the g-pawn is a critical weakness. } 16. f4 $2 {this was the obvious next move to both my opponent and myself, forcing the bishop back. It visually looks solid, but in fact it leaves behind a tactical weakness.} (16. Bxd5 {preserves an advantage for White.} cxd5 17. Bxg5 hxg5 (17... Qxg5 18. Qa4+ $16) 18. c4 dxc4 19. Rad1 Qe7 20. Qxc4 O-O $14) 16... Qa5 {this is a good response, although I missed the following tactic.} ( 16... Nxf4 $1 17. Kh2 (17. Bxf4 $2 Qd4+ {picking up the now under-defended bishop.}) 17... Nd5 $17) 17. Kf1 O-O-O $2 {this was done out of desperation for counterplay, as I thought my position was collapsing anyway. The bishop sacrifice is unnecessary, however.} (17... Be7 {Komodo cold-bloodedly accepts the loss of the g-pawn.} 18. Qxg7 O-O-O 19. Qxf7 {White is now two pawns up, but at the same time his king is far more exposed, with the f- and g-files now open for Black's rooks to operate and the White queen having limited squares.} Kd7 $17) 18. fxg5 $18 Nb4 {this was my idea, which at least poses an awkward threat of Nxc2. White could easily just ignore it, however.} 19. Bb3 {this doesn't in fact help White, which gave me some psychological momentum, in that his own string of threats had been broken.} (19. g6 {seems to be the most forcing continuation.} Nxc2 20. Bf4 $18 {now that White has protected the Rf1 sufficiently, and with the Bh7 hanging, Black has no good choices.}) 19... Bxc2 20. Qc4 $4 {missing the backwards bishop move. White evidently wanted to protect the Bb3, given that the a-pawn is currently pinned against the rook.} ( 20. Bf4 {again would have protected the rooks sufficiently.}) 20... Bd3+ $19 { after this the win is technical.} 21. Re2 Bxc4 22. Bxc4 Rd1+ 23. Kf2 Nd3+ 24. Kf3 Nxc1 25. Rc2 Qxe5 26. Ne2 Qf5+ {continuing to gobble up material, although there was a short mate available. In any case, my opponent resigned.} (26... Rf1+ 27. Kg4 Qxg5+ 28. Kh3 Rh1#) 0-1

Commentary: 2017 Isle of Man International, Round 9 (Tarjan - Kosteniuk)

This next commentary game contains some themes for improving players at several different levels of analysis - meta, strategic, and tactical. "Meta" in this case refers to the overall context - the fact that GM James Tarjan, one of the best US players in the 1970s, was at the time of this game in the third year of his chess career comeback and at age 65 defeated both GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (below) and super-GM Vladimir Kramnik during the 2017 Isle of Man International. This was no fluke, as he had also played for the US in the 2016 chess Olympiad. Seeing these kinds of examples helps combat the "inevitable decline" narrative associated with the aging process, or at least provides fewer excuses for not undertaking effortful study.

While we (or at least I) may not have Tarjan's level of inherent talent, his approach and the example of play here are understandable and instructive. My top observations from the game:

• Tarjan's opening choice is designed to allow White to "play chess" rather than debate opening theory. This strategy used to be frowned upon in general, with purists insisting White always play for a forced if slight advantage. However, Carlsen's repeated use of it over the years has lent it more legitimacy; one game of his is in a similar variation is included in the game notes.
• Master-level choice of candidate moves. I highlight multiple instances where White's move choice probably would not occur to an amateur. I find these to be one of the most important aspects of studying and analyzing master-level games, as they demonstrate how new ideas can be introduced into your own play.
• The interplay of tactical and strategic considerations is evident throughout, especially when Black - probably under time pressure - starts missing key tactics in the latter part of the game. Using tactics to achieve more of a strategic/positional advantage was also possible at several points in the game for both sides.

[Event "Chess.com Isle of Man Open - Masters"] [Site "Douglas (Isle of Man)"] [Date "2017.10.01"] [Round "9.32"] [White "Tarjan, James"] [Black "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A22"] [WhiteElo "2412"] [BlackElo "2552"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo Dragon"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2017.09.23"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nc3 Nb6 6. b3 {this move takes the game out of reversed Sicilian territory. Nf3 is the most played in the database.} Be7 {Black commits the bishop early. The following top-level game shows an alternate plan of development.} (6... Nc6 7. Bb2 Be6 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. Nf3 Bd6 10. d4 exd4 11. Qxd4 f6 12. Qe4 Kf7 13. Qxc6 Qe8 14. Qe4 h5 15. Nd4 Bd7 16. Qxe8+ Rhxe8 17. f3 c5 18. Nc2 Be5 19. Nd1 Bxb2 20. Nxb2 Bb5 21. e4 f5 22. Ne3 fxe4 23. f4 Red8 24. Rd1 Rd4 25. Nf5 Rad8 26. Nxd4 cxd4 27. a4 Ba6 28. a5 Nc8 29. Nc4 Ne7 30. Kf2 Nf5 31. Rhe1 e3+ 32. Kf3 Bb7+ 33. Ke2 Ke6 34. Rg1 Be4 35. Ne5 Rb8 36. Nf3 Bxf3+ 37. Kxf3 Rxb3 38. Ke4 e2 39. Rd3 Rb5 40. Re1 Rxa5 41. Rxe2 g6 42. Kf3+ Kd6 43. h3 Ra4 44. g4 hxg4+ 45. hxg4 Ne7 46. Ke4 Nc6 47. Rh2 Ra1 48. Rh6 Re1+ 49. Kf3 Rf1+ 50. Kg3 Rg1+ 51. Kh4 Rh1+ 52. Kg5 Rxh6 53. Kxh6 Kd5 54. Kxg6 Ke4 55. Rd1 Kxf4 56. g5 Ne5+ 57. Kh5 Ke4 58. Re1+ Kf5 59. Rf1+ Ke4 60. Re1+ Kf5 61. Kh6 Nf7+ 62. Kh5 Ne5 {1/2-1/2 (62) Carlsen,M (2863) -Nepomniachtchi,I (2784) Lichess.org INT 2020}) 7. Bb2 {the bishop must develop here and there is no reason to postpone it. It also gives White a look at Black's next developing move before making any other decisions about piece placement.} Nc6 (7... O-O {seems more consistent with the early Bishop move, also waiting to see where to go with the Nb8.}) 8. Bxc6+ $5 {Tarjan is the only one in the database to play this, sending the game on to a different strategic path. It is a classic trade-off decision, eliminating the strong White bishop but inflicting permanent structural damage on Black and providing White with relatively easy targets to work against. The engines evaluate the position as equal.} (8. Nf3 {is of course the conventional move.}) 8... bxc6 9. Nf3 {developing and attacking e5.} Qd6 (9... f6 {would be the more standard way to protect the pawn in similar Black structures.}) 10. O-O {tucking the king away before Black can play ...Bh3. Interestingly, the engines do not consider this such a problem.} (10. Rc1 $5 {immediately moving to increase pressure on the c-file.} Bh3 11. Qc2 $11 {White's king is in no danger and the rook can go to g1 and still be useful.}) 10... Bf5 $6 {this fights for the e4 square, but not very effectively, considering White's next move.} (10... Bh3) ( 10... O-O) 11. d3 $14 {now White is threatening Ne4, with a discovered attack on the e5 pawn.} Qe6 {avoiding a double attack on the queen after White's next. } 12. Ne4 {Black now has an important strategic decision to make. Her choice to castle queenside is very imbalancing and appears to go against the position's needs. Kosteniuk must have felt that either the king was safe enough there, despite the weak pawns, or that she would be able to attack White first.} O-O-O $6 {Black tactically protects e5, as the Ne4 is now hanging due to the pinned d-pawn. However, White gets out of the pin by moving his queen to a better square, lining up on the c-file, so it is a net minus for Black.} (12... f6 {is the engine recommendation, protecting the pawn.}) ( 12... Bxe4 $6 {looks like a reasonable idea, inflicting some pawn structure damage on White in return. However, Black's c-pawns are still worse than White's e-pawns and Black would no longer have the two bishops.}) 13. Qc2 $16 f6 14. Rfc1 {putting a rook on c1 is clearly a good idea, creating a battery with additional pressure. An argument could be made for moving the other rook, since the a-pawn will not need its support to advance, but White evidently wanted to put both heavy pieces on the queenside.} Kb7 {a reasonable-looking defensive move, but Black may be better off looking for some counterplay.} ( 14... Bg4 $5 {is the engines' preference, threatening to exchange on f3 and undermine White's d-pawn.}) 15. b4 $5 {a move that no amateur would be likely to consider, as it just appears to lose a pawn.} (15. a4 {is the more obvious way of launching operations on the queenside.}) 15... Bxb4 16. Rab1 {now we see the idea of the pawn sacrifice, to attack down the b-file. It appears to be slower than alternatives, though, as Black looks to equalize with ...Rd5 or exchange off an attacking piece with ...Bxe4. In practical terms, it is still difficult to meet, however.} (16. a4 Rd5 17. a5 Nd7 18. Bxe5 $5 fxe5) 16... Be7 {withdraws the bishop from its current vulnerable square, eliminating tactics involving a discovered attack after the Bb2 moves (for example Bd4 or Bxe5). This does little to impede White's attacking ideas, however.} (16... Rd5 { this defends along the 5th rank, although White still has pressure and tactical ideas in the center against the rook and bishop. For example} 17. Bd4 Ba3 18. Nc5+ Bxc5 19. Bxc5 e4 20. Nd4 Rxd4 {the defensive exchange sacrifice is necessary} (20... Qd7 $2 21. dxe4) 21. Bxd4 {at this point the engine shows complete equality, despite the material difference, meaning that with accurate defensive play Black will be all right. If Kosteniuk calculated this far, however, it would hardly look appetizing.}) (16... Bxe4 $5 {may be the best practical choice here, eliminating an attacking piece and reducing complexity.} 17. dxe4 a5 {physically impeding White's future a-pawn advance} 18. a3 Be7 $14) 17. a4 {with the idea of pushing away the knight. Bringing another piece into the attack might boost its effectiveness.} (17. Nfd2 {appears to be a useful preparatory move, as the Nf3 now is not doing much otherwise.}) (17. Bc3) 17... Ka8 {getting off the open file.} 18. a5 Nd7 {although Black has been pushed around, White does not have anything decisive and now looks to recover the pawn. However, there is no rush to do so and he ends up in a slightly worse position with the move played, so alternatives are worth looking at.} 19. Qa4 ( 19. Ra1 $5 {with the idea of Ba3 and trading off White's worse bishop, helping fight for the dark squares onthe queenside.}) (19. Qxc6+ Qxc6 20. Rxc6 { regains the pawn more forthrightly and seems to give Black less leeway than the game continuation.}) 19... Rb8 {challenging on the open file and giving back the pawn for equality.} (19... Nb8 $6 {is a move amateurs might play, defending the c6 pawn at all cost. This would renew White's attacking chances, however. For example} 20. Nfd2 Rd5 21. Ba3 Bxa3 22. Qxa3 Na6 23. Rc4 {followed by Rbc1.}) 20. Rxc6 {this forces Black's next move, otherwise the c-pawn is lost.} Qb3 21. Qxb3 Rxb3 22. Nfd2 {finally the knight gets into the action.} ( 22. Rxc7 $2 {greed is punished by} Rhb8 23. Rc2 Ba3 $19) 22... Rb7 {now Black is doing fine and the open b-file is more of a benefit for her than it is for her opponent.} 23. Rc2 {this overprotects the Bb2, freeing the Rb1 to move, but seems a bit passive.} (23. a6 $5 Rb6 24. Rxc7 Rhb8 25. Rc2 Rxa6 {with a slight advantage to Black, with the passed a-pawn.}) 23... Rhb8 24. Nc4 { overprotecting the Bb2 again and getting the knight further into play.} a6 { physically blocking the further advance of the White a-pawn.} 25. Rbc1 { moving the rook out of the pin and doubling pressure on the c-file. White has managed to rearrange his pieces to be less awkward and can look to exchange off his worse dark-square bishop with Ba3.} Rb3 {this temporarily stops the bishop exchange idea, but White could still insist on it.} 26. Bc3 (26. Ned2 R3b5 27. Ba3 Bxa3 28. Nxa3 Rxa5 29. Nac4 Rc5 30. Ra2 Rc6 31. Rca1 $11 {with play against the a-pawn.}) (26. f4 $5 {could also be played immediately.}) 26... Be6 {Black again passes up the chance to exchange on e4. This seems to help validate White's previous move, though, as the bishop is now more useful on the a5-e1 diagonal protecting the a-pawn.} (26... Bxe4 27. dxe4 Nc5) 27. f4 $6 {one of the common cases where playing the right idea at the wrong time - one tempo later, in this case - could result in a setback.} exf4 {Black makes the obvious move, to avoid losing the e-pawn (attacked three times, defended twice).} (27... Bxc4 {this possibility is the difference.} 28. dxc4 exf4 29. gxf4 Nc5 30. Ng3 Bd6 31. e3 $17 {now White has three weak pawns (a5, c4, e3) to defend and Black's pieces are much better placed.}) 28. gxf4 {this allows Black to play ...Bxc4 again, but she overlooks this.} (28. Ncd2 {is the engines' recommendation, sacrificing the pawn for vigorous piece play.}) 28... R3b5 29. Bd4 $11 {now White is completely equal.} Bb4 {attempting to pick up the a-pawn. Komodo recommends to simply ignore it, as White's rooks could then make threats on the c-file.} (29... Bxc4 30. Rxc4 $11) 30. Bc3 {an equal defensive move. Given the repetition of moves that occurs here, it appears both players were likely low on time.} (30. Ne3 $5 {this unleashes the rooks.} Bxa5 31. Rc6 Bb6 32. Bxb6 R8xb6 33. Rxc7 $16) 30... Be7 31. Bd4 R8b7 32. Kg2 { White appears to be just marking time here. Perhaps this succeeded in provoking Black's next, which is a non-obvious blunder.} Kb8 $2 {this appears to be a reasonable move, getting the king out of the corner and reinforcing the pawn on c7. It has a tactical problem, though, which Tarjan finds.} (32... Bd5 {or moving to f7 or g8 would avoid the problem, which is created by the king making itself vulnerable to a back-rank check, physically blocking the rook from coming back to b8.}) 33. Ncd6 $1 {an example of a reloader tactic on d6, made possible by the threat of Rc8+} Bxd6 (33... Rb1 {the engines suggest leaving the bishop on the board rather than exchange it, but it's still a win for White, who is up the exchange with no compensation for Black.} 34. Nxb7 Rxb7 (34... Rxc1 35. Rxc1 Kxb7 36. Nc5+ $18) 35. Kf2 $18) 34. Nxd6 {and now Black loses material.} Rd5 35. Nxb7 Rxd4 36. Nd8 Bd5+ 37. e4 Kc8 38. Nc6 Bxc6 39. Rxc6 Rxd3 40. Rxc7+ $18 {at the end of the sequence, White is simple an exchange up with a dominating rook pair.} Kd8 41. Ra7 {both getting behind the a-pawn and leaving the c7 square potentially available for the other rook.} Rd6 42. Kf3 g5 {attempting to get any counterplay possible, by breaking up the pawn shield in front of White's king, or getting a kingside pawn majority.} 43. Rg1 h6 {this looks like it is reinforcing the g-pawn, but ends up giving another pawn to White.} 44. h4 {another interesting master idea, although an amateur might have more of a chance of spotting this tactic. The h-pawn cannot be taken due to the mate, and Black's g-pawn cannot be further reinforced, so it is lost.} Ke7 45. hxg5 hxg5 46. fxg5 fxg5 47. Rxg5 Kf6 48. Kf4 Ke6 49. Rg6+ Nf6 {allowing one final tactic.} 50. Rxf6+ {and now the pawn forks on e5 after the rook is recaptured.} 1-0

Annotated Game #224: Play on both sides of the board in the Dutch

This final-round game in the Stonewall Dutch features highly entertaining, if not particularly accurate, play. The main battleground is the kingside and the f-file, largely due to White's strategic choices. I do quite well out of this as Black and by move 18 have a decisive advantage built up on the board. This is also the point where I start missing chances to dominate on the queenside as well, focusing solely on kingside play.

The Dutch (in its various forms) often possesses this strategic tension, in which Black needs to properly evaluate if/when to switch to queenside play, or (in the Stonewall especially) when to dissolve the central pawn structure to obtain an advantage (see move 24). These kinds of decisions I expect will become easier with more experience; the below was only my third tournament game with a Stonewall.

In the game, I come late to the party on the queenside and take a kind of caveman approach to it, which results in my opponent getting a dangerous, then what should be a winning, attack on the kingside. Nevertheless, I don't give up, find a key defensive exchange sacrifice, distract my opponent with active defense, and at the end of a long, exhausting battle play a queen fork that ends the game.

I'll follow up in a later post with some reflections on the overall lessons learned from this tournament and the previous one, which when combined led me to break through the Class A ratings barrier.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class A"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A85"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 11.2"] [PlyCount "82"] {[%mdl 8192] A85: Dutch Defence: 2 c4 Nf6 3 Nc3} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 e6 4. e3 f5 {this move-order is known as the 'Slav Stonewall'} 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. Ne5 {the second most popular move here, after b3. White immediately occupies the hole on e5.} Ne4 (8... Bxe5 $5 {is an interesting option for Black that takes the game in a very different strategic direction.}) 9. f4 {White chooses a near-symmetrical structure, reinforcing e5.} (9. f3 $5 { has scored well for White, but on a very small sample (9) of lower-rated games. After the piece exchanges, a draw seems most likely.} Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxe5 11. dxe5 Qc7 12. f4 Rd8 13. Qf3 Qa5 14. Bb2 Nd7 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. Rac1 Nc5 17. Bb1 Bd7 18. c4 Bc6 19. Qe2 Ne4 20. Bd4 Rac8 21. Qb2 {1/2-1/2 (21) Neunhoeffer,H (2281)-Ungerer,M (2144) Germany 2009}) 9... Nd7 10. Rf3 {White goes for an aggressive plan with the rook lift. This mirrors Black's usual strategic options in the Stonewall, since that is essentially what White is playing on his side as well.} (10. Nxe4 fxe4 11. Be2 Nxe5 12. fxe5 Rxf1+ 13. Qxf1 Be7 14. Bd2 Bd7 15. Bh5 g6 16. Bg4 Qf8 17. Qd1 Qh6 18. Qb3 b5 19. cxd5 cxd5 20. Rc1 Qf8 21. Rc7 Qd8 22. Ba5 a6 23. a3 Rc8 24. Qc3 Rxc7 {Adamski,J (2470)-Sydor,A (2395) Krakow 1978 1/2-1/2}) (10. Bd2 Ndf6 11. c5 Bc7 12. b4 Bd7 13. a4 b6 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Bc4 bxc5 16. bxc5 Nd5 17. Rb1 Bxe5 18. fxe5 Rb8 19. Rxb8 Qxb8 20. Bxd5 cxd5 21. Qc2 Qc8 22. Rb1 Qa6 23. a5 Bb5 24. Rb2 g5 {Izijk,J (2027)-Ramirez Gonzalez,M (2188) Aruba 2017 0-1 (35)}) 10... Nxe5 $146 {I judged that it would be best to eliminate White's strong knight, a choice validated by Komodo. The arrival of a pawn on e5 is somewhat cramping, but gives White fewer attacking chances.} (10... Ndf6 {had been universally played in the database prior to this.}) 11. fxe5 Be7 $11 12. Rh3 {continuing with the rook lift idea, focusing on pressure down the h-file.} Bd7 {time to activate the Stonewall bishop, or at least get it out of the way of Black's major pieces.} 13. Bxe4 { exchanging the centralized knight. This has the result of increasing the relative strength of my light-square bishop, however, as well as opening the f-file.} fxe4 $15 {Black has the pair of bishops, observes Komodo via the Fritz interface, along with a small positional plus.} 14. Qh5 {I'd had to calculate this far on move 12, given the threat on the h-file, but it is now easily refuted.} h6 $17 {under normal circumstances in the Stonewall this might be a weakening concession, but after the elimination of the Ne5 White has no minor pieces available to threaten g6 or sacrifice on h6. Black's control of the dark squares and g5 in particular means that a g-pawn thrust by White would also not work. My opponent is therefore lacking a good plan to make progress.} 15. Bd2 {activating his own 'Stonewall bishop'} Rf5 {although this harrasses the queen, the main point is to clear f8 for another heavy piece.} 16. Qe2 Bg5 {although e3 is well protected, the pressure is still annoying for White, and the bishop further blocks any ideas of a g-pawn thrust. More immediately, the move also clears the e7 square for my queen.} 17. Be1 $6 {White is having trouble activating his dark-square bishop. This maneuver only highlights Black's relative greater piece mobility.} (17. Qd1 $5) 17... Qe7 $17 18. Qg4 $2 {still dreaming of a kingside attack, it seems.} (18. Bf2) 18... Raf8 $19 {now the rooks have a stranglehold on the f-file and a mate in one is threatened on f1.} 19. Bh4 Qf7 $6 {in the Dutch, the Black player should be flexible in terms of kingside and queenside play. Here I make the same error on my opponent and fixate on the kingside, when my queen could make a decisive foray on the opposite wing.} (19... Qb4 $1 20. Rb1 Qxb2 {this is possible due to the back rank mate threat} (20... Bxh4 {is also sufficient for a major advantage.} 21. Qxh4 Qxc4 22. Qe1 c5 $19) 21. Qxf5 Qxc3 22. Qg4 Bxe3+ 23. Kh1 Qd3 $19) 20. Qe2 $17 Bxh4 21. Rxh4 Rf2 22. Qe1 $6 {a more practical-looking defense than the one given by the engine.} (22. Rf4 Rxf4 23. exf4 Qxf4 $17) 22... Qe7 {I thought for a while and played this somewhat less effective move. The idea was to hit the Rh4, but I did not have much of a follow up to it.} ( 22... Qf5 {this is more patient and threatens ...Qg5.} 23. Rf4 Rxf4 24. exf4 Qxf4 $19) 23. Rg4 {again, a reasonable-looking defense.} (23. Rf4 R8xf4 24. exf4 Rxb2 $17) 23... Rxb2 {an "obvious" move.} (23... Qb4 $5 24. Rb1 Qxc4 $19) 24. Ne2 {this is the main problem with Black's previous. Now the Rb2 is screened from the kingside action and White's knight can come into play.} Qa3 { this is too basic of an approach, simply targeting the a-pawn. I felt this at the time, but for whatever reason could not come up with something better.} ( 24... dxc4 $5 {having opted for queenside play, Black should logically follow up. I was illogically resistant to breaking up the Stonewall pawn formation, however. Knowing when to do this to your advantage is a key skill when playing the opening.} 25. Ng3 Qb4 26. Qxb4 Rxb4 27. Nxe4 Kh7 $19) (24... Qb4) 25. Nf4 { White is now successfully reorganizing his pieces for play on the kingside, which I have significantly weakened.} Rxa2 $2 {not a good decision, because now the opponent is right back in the game, comments Komodo via the Fritz interface.} (25... dxc4 {still preserves a Black advantage.} 26. Nh5 Rf7 27. Nf6+ Kh8 28. Nxe4 $17) 26. Rxa2 $14 {now we see that I have exchanged an active, dominant rook for White's previously inactive one, shifting the strategic balance. The extra pawn is not worth it.} Qxa2 27. h4 dxc4 $4 { throws away the game, notes the engine. An example of a good idea, but played too late.} (27... Rf7 {I had to think about defense first. On the 7th rank the rook covers both g7 and d7, which will come under pressure.}) 28. Qg3 $18 { now this comes with tempo, due to the attack on g7, and is crushing.} Rf7 ( 28... g5 {hardly improves anything} 29. Nh5 Kf7 30. hxg5 hxg5 31. Rxg5 $18) 29. Nh5 {White adds more attackers than Black can defenders.} Kf8 {the only way to keep playing.} 30. Rxg7 Qb1+ 31. Kh2 Qf1 {this maneuver added a defender on the f-file. I felt this was the best practical chance for me.} 32. Rg8+ Ke7 33. Nf6 c3 {for the moment, White has no immediate kill, so I decide to try to generate some counterplay, as a distraction if nothing else.} 34. Rg7 {my opponent thought for some time here. Black's formation is not easy to crack.} ( 34. Rh8 {is the non-obvious best move for Komodo. The point is that when Black sacrifices the exchange on f6 (as occurs in the game), White is better positioned with the rook.} Rxf6 35. exf6+ Qxf6 36. Rh7+ $18) 34... Be8 { this is what I had calculated and it appeared to frustrate my opponent.} 35. Rg8 Bd7 36. Rb8 $2 (36. Qg6 {in addition to the Rh8 idea, this would have kept the winning pressure on, although the path is complicated. For example} Qf5 37. Qxh6 c2 38. Rg7 c1=Q 39. Qh8 Qxf6 40. exf6+ Kxf6 41. Qh6+ Ke7 42. Qg5+ Kd6 43. Rxf7 $18) 36... Rxf6 $14 {another surprise for my opponent. This defensive exchange sacrifice is Black's only move to stay in the game.} 37. exf6+ Qxf6 38. Rxb7 c2 $16 {although White still has a slight plus in the endgame here, largely due to the active rook placement, it must have been very disappointing for him after having such a crushing attack going. Now he is forced to play some defense himself against the advanced passed c-pawn.} 39. Qe1 e5 40. Qc3 { I was happy to see this.} (40. d5 {is what I was concerned about as a response. } cxd5 41. Rc7 $16) 40... exd4 $11 {the engine evaluates this as equal. I had seen that there was a tactical trick lurking, however, and my opponent incorrectly goes for the "obvious move" of recapturing on d4.} 41. exd4 $4 { this now opens the c1-h6 diagonal and allows a queen fork of White's king and the c-pawn's queening square.} (41. Qxc2 $11) 41... Qf4+ 0-1